Gurren Lagann: Return To The Heavens!
by Chris Keating
Summary: Over a thousand years after world peace was achieved thanks to Simon and Dai-Gurren, the world has become a near-inhospitable desert wasteland. In this wasteland lives Adam, a young man who stumbles upon a relic of the past while wandering the wastes...
1. What The Hell Is A Lagann?

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Return to the Heavens

Chapter 1

"Water…There's gotta be water somewhere…."

The teenage boy mumbled these words to himself over and over as he slogged through miles of sand. He was exhausted, and the sun was starting to make him delirious. He tripped, landing face first in the sand, and receiving a mouthful. He sat up quickly, spitting and thrashing around in an animated way.

"Damn, not a drop anywhere. Nothing but canyons and sand."

The boy looked around, disappointed. Why did it have to be like this? Months prior to this, the boy had found old books and broken technology in buildings he had raided in his eternal search for food and water. Hundreds of years ago, this planet had been one big thriving metropolis, and now it was a scorching desert with patches of desolate buildings dotting the wastes.

The boy plopped his head down onto the sand in defeat, feeling his stomach growling angrily.

"I haven't eaten either…perfect." The boy moaned. "I'm gonna die out here…"

He reached in the beat up bag he had with him, and took out his only real valuable possession, a worn old photograph in a frame. It was a picture of the boy himself, along with his father, and his brother.

"Bro, you're my only motivation to keep going." The boy murmured. "Dad would want me to continue…"

Just then, something caught the boy's eye. A glint of sunlight from something off in the distance. The boy, being naturally curious, got up and grabbed his bag, running off towards the glimmer. Perhaps it was an abandoned caravan! They always seemed to have supplies for him to use!

"Water! Please let there be water at this one…!"

The boy ran to the glimmer, fuelled singlehandedly by his desire for food and water. He skidded to a halt once he reached the source of the glimmer.

"It's…IT'S…."

The boy happily dove onto the sand a few steps away from where he had been standing.

"Shade! Glorious, wonderful shade!"

He rolled around in the sand, getting himself even dustier than he had been before. It didn't even occur to him that this shade wasn't, nor could it have possibly been, the thing that caught his attention. It wasn't until he stopped rolling around like an idiot that the boy saw it.

"That's…What is that?"

The thing he was looking at was sitting just outside the shade cast by the large rock formation the boy had found. It was a big head, or at least, that's what it looked like. It was mostly brown and old looking, but the boy could see a few scant patches of bright red and yellow paint, the sun beaming off the largest patch, causing the glint he had seen. Curiously, the head was open at the top. The boy climbed inside the big head and immediately jumped and started panicking. He had sat right next to an ancient looking skeleton, about half of which had turned to dust.

The boy stopped panicking once he noticed the inside of the big head. Amidst the dust that he had kicked up when he had panicked, he could see a metal panel with a single circular hole in the center. He then noticed a small pile of paper on the floor of the head, under the boy's boot. He took the topmost sheet and read it. The date on the paper was from a few hundred years back.

Gurren Lagann

Lagann Pilot's Log

It's over. I'm out of food, the other pilot ran off with Gurren and our supplies. My spiral energy is running low, so I won't be able to pilot Lagann for much longer. This world is so cruel now. I shudder to think what the legendary Simon would think if he saw what had happened to the place he had fought so hard to save. Things have gotten hard over the last few decades, so I've heard. With the entirety of the original Team Dai-Gurren gone, the quality of Gurren Lagann and the Grapearls has dwindled, and they've fallen into disrepair. With this note, my final entry, I leave Lagann, and the core drill to whoever finds it, and I plead to them, please, find Gurren if you can, round up some other survivors, and save our Earth. I pray that the next generation of Dai-Gurren (if there is one) will pierce the heavens again, as the legendary Simon did…

The note ended there. It was written on paper, so the pilot must have been in a pretty dire situation, not using this thing's log computer. That is, if it even had one. The boy finished reading the note and looked at the skeleton of the former pilot. He saw a small thing hanging from his neck. The boy took it off its bony owner and took a closer look at it. It was a tiny drill, slightly dented in spots, but not broken.

"Gurren Lagann, spiral energy…I've never heard of any of this stuff. And what's all this talk about Simon? He was a hero of legend. He didn't actually exist, did he?"

The boy continued to mutter to himself as he turned the drill over in his palm a few times, looking it over curiously. Before he had been thrust into this harsh wasteland, he had loved mechanics and fixing things. He looked at the circular slot he had seen when he hopped into Lagann.

"Don't tell me…This thing goes in there?"

After a moment of hesitance he jammed the drill into the slot. Nothing happened. He sat there in confused silence for a moment, then consulted one of the other papers. Most of the writing had worn away with age, but he could make out one of the sentences vaguely.

….Leeron…Training….Screwing…..Very manly…

"What the hell is this?" The boy shouted in mild revulsion. "You filled your journal with smut like this?"

He then realized how silly he sounded, talking to a dusty pile of bones. He put a hand on the core drill to pull it out of the slot, only to find that it was stuck. He may have jammed it in a bit too roughly. He pulled at the little device, and accidentally twisted it 180 degrees with a jerk, causing him to slip and knock his head on Lagann's thick metal wall.

"OW! DAMMIT!" He yelped in pain.

Just then, Lagann creaked loudly, and a roof formed around the top of the head, which had previously been open. The interior of the machine grew dark for a moment, and then the panel that the core drill was inserted into started to flicker a bright green color. The boy, startled by this chain of events looked at the panel, taking a moment to wipe some of the dust off. He could now see a chain of green indicators spiralling inward towards the center slot, where the core drill had been inserted. Everything went at a slow creaky pace. Clearly this machine hadn't been used for quite some time, and it was going to take a bit of effort to warm up.

"So, you still run, eh, Lagann?" The boy sat back in his seat. "Well, if we're going to be working together, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Adam."

The machine didn't answer. Unless you consider a loud creaking to be a valid response.

"….Right. Machine. Can't talk. I really gotta stop talking to things that don't talk back. Jeez.." Adam muttered.

At that moment, Lagann started to stand up on a pair of stubby legs. It was ready to move, at last. Adam looked over the machine's interior again. He now noticed a couple of handle-like devices below the core drill slot. He took hold of the handles and gripped the triggers on the insides, pushing the handles forward with hope that it would make something happen.

Turns out it did. After a moment of hesitation, as though it was limbering up, Lagann started walking, and then jogging, and then bolted into a high speed dash that caused Adam and the skeleton accompanying him to be jostled around the interior.

"Dammit, dammit! Stop! Stop for a second!"

Lagann was apparently in no mood to stop, because it kept tearing across the expanse of sand. Adam fumbled with the handles for a bit, and then eventually started hitting things along the console. This didn't make sense! The angrier and more frustrated Adam got at this archaic walking head, the faster it seemed to go!

"STOOOOP!" Adam shouted after a few more minutes of sheer frustration.

With that, Lagann skidded to a halt, like it had been stunned that Adam had gotten so angry. Adam sat back and sighed in relief. This thing was a stubborn old piece of junk, and apparently, getting it to run was going to be a pain in the ass. Nevertheless, Adam grinned.

"Well, Lagann, looks like we're partners!" He said in an eager voice. "Let's make a deal, I'll work on fixing you up, and you help me find my brother in return!"

Lagann didn't answer, because it was still a machine. Adam slapped his forehead once this thought reached him.

"Ahh, I'm talking to the machine again, aren't I?"

Author's note: And that's the end of the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, please comment and review, offer suggestions and ideas, blah blah blah, anyway I hope you all look forward to chapter 2, which I promise will be more eventful than this one.

-CK


	2. Listen, You! Team Up With Me!

Chapter 2

Adam had spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how Lagann worked, making an active effort to not think about moving, since that seemed to be what caused it to go last time. He flipped through the small stack of papers he had found with the machine, but most of them were useless, lost to the ages.

"Jeez, it's a pain, but I gotta figure out how to work Lagann, otherwise there's no point to having it…" He muttered.

Lagann's interior had become a lot more roomy this afternoon. Adam had hauled the former pilot's skeleton out of its seat, dug a small grave, and gave the man a proper sendoff, shooting a couple flares off as a tribute to his memory…before immediately realizing that he had wasted two valuable flares.

Much to Adam's delight, and slight guilt, he found a small supply of non-perishable rations in Lagann, which either meant that the previous pilot had succumbed to the heat rather than starvation, or else he didn't even know he had food the whole time and starved to death. Either way, the thought was unpleasant.

A few hours later, after rooting through the papers again, Adam sat down outside Lagann to eat a portion of his rations and watch the sunset. That was the one positive to living in a desert. It had a beautiful sunrise and sunset, even if you had to hurry to find a heat source once the sun actually went down.

"It's beautiful, eh, Lagann?" He murmured. "W-wait, dammit! I'm doing it again! Lagann isn't a person!"

As Adam ate his dinner, talked to Lagann, and subsequently berated himself for doing so, he was blissfully unaware of the lurking shadow, watching him from a nearby formation of rocks.

"He looks kind of stupid. Such a stupid boy doesn't deserve such a magnificent machine…" The figure said, practically whispering. "It'll be mine by sunrise."

Then the figure ducked in amongst the rocks, disappearing into the shadows. Once night fell, Adam wrapped himself in a blanket he had stored in his bag, opting to sleep outside rather than in the cold metal hull of Lagann. Adam was a heavy sleeper, and as such, didn't notice when the shadowy figure, wrapped in a ripped and worn cloak, stepped past him and climbed into Lagann. Unfortunately, this would-be thief was met with a rather unpleasant surprise.

"…How does it start? There's just a hole!"

Adam wasn't stirred by the thief's sudden outburst.

"I come all this way and the thing doesn't even start, what a piece of…wait, I saw it moving earlier today! That's why I camped out here all day instead of hunting for food! Stupid!" The thief smacked their forehead in frustration. "He must have some way of starting it, like a key or something…"

The thief carefully stepped out of Lagann, and hopped to the ground lightly, kneeling over to examine the sleeping Adam. Half-hidden under the blanket, the core drill could be seen dangling from Adam's neck.

"Jackpot." The thief murmured, reaching for the drill.

At that moment, Adam reached up and grabbed the fringe of the cloak, yanking it off to reveal a thin, short girl with silver hair, barely reaching her neck. Adam didn't notice this, however, because he was still asleep. He had grabbed the cloak because he was dreaming about catching food.

"Crap." The girl whispered.

"FRIED PIG-MOLE! Abaheha…?" Adam awoke with a start, and slowly, he turned his head groggily upward to stare at the silver-haired girl.

There was an extremely awkward silence as the two stared at each other.

"…..Sooo…" The girl muttered, trying to think of something to say.

"Are you here to bring me food?" Adam asked, still half asleep.

"Here to- NO!" The girl looked annoyed. "Wake up, imbecile!"

She gave him a hard kick in the side, to 'help' him wake.

"OWW!" Adam yelped in pain. "Alright, alright. There's no reason to be a bitch about it…Sorry."

"Apology accepted. Now hand over that thing hanging around your neck. That can be compensation for the mental anguish you caused me." The girl put on a serious expression.

"Sorry, lady, can't do that." Adam shook his head abruptly, pointing to Lagann. "I need it to pilot Lagann over there."

"You idiot!" The girl said in frustration. "Do you have any idea what you've uncovered? Lagann is a priceless piece of machinery!"

"Looks like a piece of crap to me, but I plan on fixing it up." Adam muttered.

"No! It needs to be reunited with Gurren!"

"Gurren, huh? You mean the one that ran off with the food?"

"What incoherent nonsense are you babbling now?"

Adam stood up, looking annoyed.

"Listen, you! Don't go telling me how to talk or nothing!"

"Again, you sound like an idiot."

"Pfft, and you sound like a nasty little snob. What's a rich girl like you doing robbing poor guys like me in the middle of the night?" Adam glared at her. "Just who the hell do you think I am!"

The girl stopped for a moment at these words, apparently in awe of them, but quickly regained her composure and continued on the verbal warpath.

"Just give me that thing around your neck and I'll go!"

"I said no!"

She kicked him in the shins, out of frustration that she wasn't able to negotiate.

"Oww!" Adam rubbed his shin where she had struck surprisingly hard. "Can't we come to some sort of agreement without resorting to violence?"

"Of course we can. Give me the thing and I'll go."

"Not like that. I'm still using Lagann."

"What could possibly be so important that you would need a titan like Lagann for?" The girl asked impatiently.

"To find my brother and fulfill my dad's dying wish, that's what. Wait until I'm done doing that, and Lagann is yours, alright? I don't have much use for him anyway."

"It's a him?"

"I'unno." Adam shrugged. "He's red, and he seems very manly."

"There you go talking nonsense again. Idiot…" The girl shook her head. "But…If finding your brother is that important to you, I guess I can wait. But I have two conditions!"

"Conditions…Oh, jeez. This'll be good." Adam leaned back a bit, looking wary.

"One, you have to bring me along while you look for your brother, and two, you have to help me find Gurren once you've found your brother, unless of course we find Gurren first."

Adam considered these conditions for a moment before nodding.

"Can you at least tell me your name? 'Cause, if not, I'm gonna call you Shortstack."

"Don't call me that. My name is Eve." The girl looked annoyed that he had noticed her height.

"Eve, huh? Well, I'm Adam."

He held out his hand for her to shake.

"From now on, you and I are a team. Or…at least till we find my bro and your precious Gurren." He grinned. "Deal?"

After a moment, Eve gave him a slightly forced smile, shaking his hand.

"Deal. Ugh, you're filthy. What have you been doing, rolling around in the dirt?"

"….Shut up." He muttered after a moment, recalling his discovery of the shady rock where he found Lagann earlier that day.

Eve smirked, clearly pleased that Adam was so easy to get a rise out of.

Just then, the ground started to rumble, as though something was travelling beneath it. The pair fell, and then after a moment, each of them stood, scant seconds before a large robot burst from the sand a few hundred feet away. A voice boomed from inside the great machine.

"AHA! I KNEW I WOULD FIND LAGANN AROUND HERE!"

"The hell do YOU want Lagann for!" Adam shouted at the giant robot, which was more human in shape than the small head of Lagann, noticeably bigger, a combination of silver and orange in color and was carrying a rather large blade.

"OUR MASTER DEMANDED WE FIND THE OLD RELICS OF GURREN AND LAGANN, SO THAT HE…" The giant robot stopped mid-sentence. "…SHUT UP! YOU NEED NOT KNOW OUR MASTER'S PLAN!"

"So…what exactly are you? A big heap of scrap?"

"I AM A SERVANT OF…SHUT UP!" The robot said, and then immediately forgot to keep quiet again. "I AM A SOLDIER IN THE NEW BEASTMAN ARMY!"

"New Beastman Army…?" Adam looked oblivious, while Eve looked genuinely worried.

"Idiot! The New Beastman Army is the closest thing the world has to an organized military right now! And they aren't exactly for the ethical treatment of humans!"

"So what does that mean?" Adam tilted his head. "That I gotta kick his ass using Lagann?"

"Essentially, yes. That's what that means. Otherwise he'll kill us both and take Lagann without a second thought." Eve said. "Now, go kick his ass, like you said."

She shoved him towards Lagann, but he held back for a minute and raised his voice.

"Yo, giant scrap-heap man! I'm about to show you what it means to have drive! Motivation! The ability to kick ass and take names!"

"…Just go." Eve persisted, but Adam wasn't done.

"I have a dream! A dream of reuniting with a lost family member! And I'm not afraid to bust up a few giant bad guys to do it!"

"JUST GO." Eve said more forcefully.

"My story's about to continue where yours will end! I'M ADAM! AND THIS IS LAGANN!...AND THAT'S EVE! AND YOU'RE AN EYESORE! WHICH IS WHY I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" He struck a hot-blooded pose, caught up in the moment, but he was interrupted by a swift kick to the back of the head by Eve.

"GO, YOU DAMNED IMBECILE!"

Ch. 2, END

Author's note: Yeah, yeah, I know the whole Adam and Eve thing is played out, but I honestly couldn't think of a better female name. It just seemed right for the character, right for the setting and easy to remember. Anyway, please review; I like constructive criticism, both good and bad. Message me if you want to suggest an idea for the story too.

-CK


	3. This Is How A Hero Does Things!

(Well, here's chapter 3, fresh after my upload of chapter 2. The reason for that is that I actually wrote chapter 2 immediately after finishing chapter 1, but decided to give it a couple days to see how it was received. Enjoy.)

Chapter 3

Adam took a moment to fold his arms and stare down the giant menacing 'scrap-heap robot' that had interrupted his conversation with Eve. He figured that he'd be able to show off some of his 'badass male spirit' by taunting the machine and its pilot relentlessly.

"That's right, you walking junk pile! I'm going to lay a beatdown on you, and you're going to be wondering how it all happened!"

Eve was growing steadily more annoyed at Adam's irritating taunts, particularly because he seemed to have no intention of actually piloting Lagann at all, and was just trying to stall.

"Okay, Adam, was it? That 'scrap-heap' is called a Ganmen. It's kind of like Lagann, but obviously a lot bigger, so you're going to have to use your brain to beat it. Now stop the incessant taunting and get in Lagann!"

"…Yeah, here's the thing. I've only actually used Lagann once."

"You…WHAT? Then why are you acting like you know what you're doing, you moron?"

"Shut up! You and I know that I'm still a rookie, but the big guy over there doesn't!"

"ACTUALLY…I CAN HEAR EVERYTHING YOU'RE SAYING." The Ganmen's voice boomed, sounding a little confused. "NOW IF YOU'LL JUST STAND STILL SO I CAN STOMP ON YOU…"

The Ganmen started lumbering towards the two humans. Adam started panicking and Eve took a strange kind of stance, like she was prepared for just such a situation.

"Fine…" She said, her voice dripping with seething annoyance. "If you're not going to fight, then I will. Adam, stay out of my way."

"But you don't know how to pilot Lagann either, do you?" Adam kept glancing back and forth between the Ganmen, Lagann, and Eve, unsure of what to do.

"Who says I'm going to use Lagann?" Eve smirked. "You can't wander around unprepared for stuff like this, right?"

She then slipped a small device out of her belt into her hand and started running towards the Ganmen. It swung its giant blade down towards her, slamming the ground and sending debris everywhere. As soon as she saw her opening, Eve leapt onto the blade and started running up it, then onto the Ganmen's arm, with all the grace and fluidity of an acrobat. She sprinted across the massive beast's shoulders, avoiding its constant attempts to swat her away. While all this was happening, Adam couldn't help but stand and watch in amazement. He had never seen something as incredible as this before.

Eve had reached the head and was now planting the device she was carrying firmly on the top. She pressed her hand against the device once it was planted, and then pulled a cord out of the device. It was at this moment that the Ganmen got in a clean hit on her, sending her flying off, still clutching the cord, which was now extending out of the device in seemingly limitless amounts.

"Eve!" Adam yelled, and made a run for Lagann, jumping in and jamming the core drill into its slot, giving it a solid twist. This time, the panels and monitors lit up their light green color near instantly, and with a minimal amount of coaxing, Adam got Lagann sprinting to catch the falling girl.

But a few seconds before she slammed to the ground, Eve recovered from being hit and went into a swing, using the cord as a rope to propel herself through the Ganmen's legs and onto one of its protruding facial features, a large tooth. She then took another couple of devices off of her belt, one exactly the same as the one on the Ganmen's head, and another that looked like a detonator. She planted the first device and inserted the cord into it and then, just to add insult to injury, she leapt off the Ganmen right before it took another swing at her, causing it to foolishly punch itself in the face.

Down on the ground, Lagann was sprinting at high speed, and Adam opened the roof for Eve to land. She plopped down in the seat next to him, breathing only slightly more heavily than usual, like that whole spectacle was just a light jog for her.

"You alright?" Adam asked. "That metal bastard hit you pretty hard, didn't he?"

"Just be quiet. We've won this battle." Eve replied, leaning back and looking smug. "Turn Lagann around and you'll see why."

"YOU LITTLE PRIMATES!" The Ganmen roared. "DAMMIT, YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF NOW!"

Adam ran Lagann around the Ganmen in a wide circle, opening the roof at Eve's request. She stood up, twirled the small detonator she was carrying and pushed the button.

"If that made you mad, this will make you absolutely furious." She retorted to the Ganmen, grinning nastily.

At that moment, the cord that was wrapped around the Ganmen glowed a bright green color, similar to Lagann's interior monitors, and the Ganmen was brought to its knees with a loud sparking sound.

"WH-WHAT DID YOU DO!" It screamed. Inside, the pilot was furiously mashing at buttons and yelling into the intercom. "NOTHING IS WORKING!"

"Oh, I overloaded your Ganmen's motor functions with that cord. I designed the device myself. The cord itself is made of a material that can conduct Spiral Energy with the help of those devices I planted on the head and jaw."

"Y-YOU LITTLE BITCH! USING SPIRAL ENERGY IS A DIRTY TRICK!" The Ganmen screamed at Eve. "I CAN'T MOVE!"

"Alright, Adam. Now it's time to show me whether or not you're completely useless. Finish him off!"

Adam nodded, smirking.

"Alright then, hold onto your ass!" He gave Lagann's controls a mighty shove, clicking the triggers on the handles as he did. Lagann raised its arms, and they morphed into silver drills, and a third drill shot out from its forehead.

"Hey, Scrap-heap! Remember how I said I'd kick your ass? I WASN'T KIDDING!" Adam yelled in high-adrenaline arrogance.

And with that, Lagann jumped up at the once-mighty Ganmen and tore through its head like it was made of paper, rather than thick metal. The Ganmen collapsed in a mess of wires, metal and sparks. Lagann landed on its feet, retracted its drills, and began dashing away. After a moment, the Ganmen gave one last angry scream, and then exploded in a mighty ball of fire. Lagann, being quite small, was propelled forward at an astounding speed by the force of the blast.

"You idiot!" Eve gave Adam a smack across the back of the head as Lagann rolled and stumbled. "You should have come out running! Then we wouldn't be rolling around!"

"I couldn't help it!" Adam yelled, giving a shout of pain when he bumped his head on Lagann's side. "I wanted to make my first win look as cool as possible!"

"There's nobody around to see it!"

Lagann regained its footing after a moment and eventually slowed down and stopped. Adam and Eve sighed in unison.

"Well, we won!" Adam said after a moment, looking triumphant. "You know, we make a good team. When you're not, you know, being a nagging little know-it-all."

Eve looked annoyed at this comment, but then gave a begrudging smile to Adam.

"And you're a pretty good pilot for Lagann, at least for a rookie. And when you aren't being arrogant, idiotic, or generally unimpressive. And I think you'll make a fine escort in my search for Gurren…As long as you don't open your mouth too much.

"W-Wait, what? Escort?" Adam looked indignant. "I'm not some kind of chauffeur, you know!"

"Hmph. You say it like it's a bad thing." Eve looked away, seeming annoyed. "I'll have you know that I come from a rich family and I'm used to this sort of treatment."

"Rich family? There are still rich families out there? I thought that people were still struggling to survive!" Adam asked, looking baffled.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Eve asked. "Of course, it's not anywhere near as safe in the world as it was when Team Dai-Gurren was still around, but it's not as though you and I are the last survivors either…"

"But, I've been wandering for months now, and all I've seen are destroyed cities and endless plains of sand. I thought that's how it was everywhere."

"No, of course not! There are settlements dotted all over the world! They're smaller than the cities from yesteryear, a bit like how things were in the days when Beastmen were the dominant species. In those days, humans had to live underground."

"That sounds terrible!" Adam said, his eyebrows raised in shock.

"It certainly wasn't the best situation either. Anyway, come on. We need to find a secluded spot for the rest of the night. That Ganmen couldn't have been the only one wandering around here, and neither of us would be able to take another one on tonight."

Adam sighed sleepily.

"Yeah, I don't know why, but that battle wore me down way more than I thought."

"It's because your spiral energy is low. You use it to power Lagann, and that last attack probably cost you quite a bit of it."

"So that's what spiral energy is…And you said you used it to disable that big guy?" Adam asked.

"That's right. I have quite a bit of spiral energy, so I use tools that allow me to channel excess amounts of it into them."

"I'm…confused."

"Don't worry about it, you'll get it eventually. You'll have to."

"Right…"

And with that, Adam began to steer Lagann off towards a canyon in the east, where they would spend the rest of the night.

CH. 3 END

Author's note: Chapter 3, hot on the heels of Chapter 2! In case you're wondering why this fic has little to do with the actual Gurren Lagann storyline, worry not. I plan on incorporating elements from the original series into this one, so look forward to that. I'm not going to fish for reviews this chapter. I was pleased enough to see that a number of people had read Ch. 1 over the span of two days. Thanks a lot!

-CK


	4. Hey! What Happened Here?

Chapter 4

Adam stood alone in a field he had never seen before. He knew he had never been here because there were flowers as far as the eye could see. Adam, having grown up in the desert, had never seen these kinds of flowers before. They were assorted shades of pinks and whites, and they almost seemed to give off a radiant glow. The flowers weren't the only thing that he could see, however. In the center of the massive garden there was a headstone. Somebody was buried here. And at the foot of the headstone was a miniscule cross-like decoration, with a glimmering ring attached to it.

Adam decided that it was disrespectful to stand around in the flowers that had clearly been planted in this person's memory, and began to walk away after a moment. Eventually, he found the spot where the flowers and the rough red desert soil met, and he glanced up. There was a sword, a rather long one by the looks of it, planted firmly in the reddish stone and dirt. A tattered red cape was tied to the sword and was flapping violently in the wind. This was another memorial site. Adam wondered just how he had ended up here, and as he was pondering this, he heard a voice behind him.

"Nia…."

Adam then woke up, sitting straight up where he had been sleeping. He looked around. The field of flowers, the sword and the grave had disappeared. He was back in the canyon where he and Eve had stopped for the night. Eve was still asleep in Lagann, and it looked like the sun would rise soon.

"Man, what kinda dream was that…?" Adam murmured to himself. "Nia, huh…?"

He decided to climb up one of the rocks that made up the canyon so he could watch the sunrise. Having roamed the desert for a while, he was capable of rock climbing with great ease. He scrambled to the top of the giant orange-red rock and stood, seeing the brilliant red sun rising in the east. He stood and stared for a while before realizing that Eve had joined him on the rock.

"It's beautiful. It makes you forget how harsh the world is nowadays…"

"Eve? When did you…?"

"Hm?" Eve glanced at him, the usual animosity in her eyes nowhere to be found. As amazing as it was, she seemed to be in a good mood this morning. "When did I what?"

"Never mind." Adam shook his head. "So, you want to explain to me just what happened to make the world the way it is?"

"You really don't know? I thought everyone knew." Eve looked surprised. "Well, fine. I guess you deserve to know. Sit down, alright? This is a bit of a long story."

Adam sat, and Eve did as well.

"Well, you know that Team Dai-Gurren defeated the Anti-Spiral a long time ago, right? After that, the world became peaceful, and humans, beastmen, and all of the alien races we made contact with were united."

"Yeah, sure. Everybody knows that." Adam nodded. "But then what happened?"

"Well, Team Dai-Gurren's legendary leader Simon decided that it wasn't his place to run things, and left his friends to wander the world. This was the point when he stopped being a historical figure and started fading into his legendary status."

"Ahh, okay. So Simon was real?"

"Well, we couldn't have possibly gotten to this point if he wasn't, so I believe he was real. But he certainly has the aspects of a legendary figure."

"Aspects?"

"The story goes that Simon's spiral energy was unfathomably high, and continued to get higher, even after his eventual departure from Dai-Gurren. Naturally, with all that built-up spiral energy, he started to develop some godly traits. They say he became immortal and infinitely powerful, and this is the point where the story of Simon splits off into two possible beliefs."

"And those are?" Adam was interested to hear all of this, since it was all new to him.

"Well, the first belief is that he still walks the earth today, refusing to die until he fulfills some sort of promise or goal. The second is that he simply transcended existence after a certain point and literally obtained ethereal godhood."

"I see…So he's either still alive, or a god now?"

"Yeah, that's right. Anyway, back to the history of the world."

"Alright."

"After Simon left, peace maintained itself for a number of years, and society advanced well into a new age. But the eventual succesors to Gurren Lagann simply couldn't live up to the potential of their predecessors. At a crucial point, talks broke down with a majority of the alien races we had united with, and they disavowed our planet, cutting off all contact to it."

"Really? What could we have done to make them hate us so much?"

"Well, when a world power is succeeded by a new world power with a completely different way of running things, the adjustment tends to be pretty steep. Rossiu, one of Simon's best friends and the ruler and diplomat of our planet, eventually passed away, and a successor was chosen. This successor threw out Rossiu's ideas of diplomacy and negotiations through peaceful contact, and decided that war was the finest solution for everything."

"That's horrible…"

"Yes, it is. We fought against the other worlds until they disavowed us, and the new leader wrote them off as unimportant and not worthy of being our allies. Naturally, society wasn't too happy about the way things were being run, but they had no choice but to agree to what was going on, since nobody had the will to stand up and fight."

"Okay, okay, so a warmongering bastard took over, and everyone hated him. I get that, but how does the way the world is now tie into that?"

"Let me finish! During the new despot's reign, a beastman general in his army assassinated the cruel dictator, and seized power for himself. The population of the world was greatly pleased, right up until the beastman general decided that beastmen should be dominant over humans again. Many of the world's cities were destroyed in an effort to purge the humans from the face of the earth, but we held on, barely."

"Alright, I get that."

"Over time, what remained of us fled into the wilds and set up villages. Not underground like in the pre-Dai-Gurren days, but we certainly weren't living in giant metropolises anymore. To tell the truth, other than the villages not being underground, life is a lot like it was before Dai-Gurren. We're able to defend ourselves a little better, but that's partly because the beastmen are relatively satisfied with the way things are, since they're in power again, even if there are patches of human society here and there."

"And what about this general? The one that seized power?"

"He's most likely holed up at what remains of Kamina City, or rather, New Teppelin, as they call it now."

"Wait, he's still around? Then we can take him on!"

"Don't be stupid! He's got an army of Ganmen! And they're bound to be a hell of a lot stronger and smarter than the one we fought last night."

"I didn't mean we fight him right NOW. I meant we find Gurren, and my brother, and then we begin to form a new team. Yeah, Shin* Dai-Gurren!" Adam grinned excitedly as he stood up. This was a brilliant idea and he was sure of it.

Shin = New

"You're crazy! We can't do something so ambitious! It's…It's…"

"It's what? Insane? Foolish? Yeah, I know it is, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna sit around and let humanity take anymore crap from these jerkass beastmen! I'm going to bring the world back to the way it was before all this happened!" He pointed one arm towards the sky. "Just who the hell do you think I am! Some kinda quitter?"

Eve stopped protesting for a minute. He had said it again.

"Hey…Adam?" She said in a quieter voice. "You know something?"

"What?"

"Do you know where Kamina City got its namesake?"

"Uh…I'm afraid I don't, actually. That's a bit too far back for me."

"It was named for Simon's best friend and spiritual brother, Kamina. Kamina helped Simon overcome a lot of obstacles in the beginning with sheer force of will and determination. Simon was and still is our hero, but Kamina was Simon's hero."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with me?"

"The stories say that when Kamina was alive, way back in the early days of Dai-Gurren, he was incredibly hot-blooded, loudmouthed and refused to back down no matter what. In short, he acted back then exactly how you're acting now."

Adam looked at her for a long time, unaware that his hand was still pointing towards the sky. He was quite stunned that Eve, this girl who had done nothing but badmouthed him since they had met yesterday, was now comparing him to a hero.

"And…If you're so insistent, with that Kamina-like stubbornness of yours, that we're going to conquer the New Beastman Army, well, then I guess I have no choice but to tag along. After all, who else is going to drag your sorry butt out of the fire when it all goes horribly wrong?" She used a pessimistic choice of words, but she was smiling softly as she said them. A rare occurrence indeed.

Adam smirked at her.

"Alright then, Shortstack, we're partners."

She gave him a swift boot to the shin, causing him to yelp in pain.

"I told you not to call me Shortstack! I can't help if I'm short! My mother was short and so was her mother! It's genetics! Or are you too stupid to grasp something like genetics!"

"What the hell is with you? One minute you're smiling and the next you're kicking me! You bipolar or something!"

They then stopped and smiled at each other for a moment, silently agreeing to the partnership, and then Eve immediately kicked Adam in the shin again.

"OW! What is your freakin' deal!"

"That was for generally being an idiot!" She kicked him again. "And that was for any future screw-ups you might make!"

Adam scrambled off the top of the rock, trying to escape with his shins intact. Eve chased him down the rock face and onto the ground until he eventually hid out in Lagann, awaiting the moment when she finally cooled down.

**Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in New Teppelin…**

"Sire, we recovered the audiologs from the wreckage of the Ganmen that supposedly discovered Lagann, and then was subsequently wrecked. It seems that our brilliant weapon was defeated by two humans named Adam and Eve, and there's certainly enough evidence in the logs to indicate that these two did indeed have Lagann with them." The beastman soldier bowed apologetically.

"Hm…Interesting. A couple of hairless monkeys discovered Lagann before we did. No doubt by accident. Stupid apes that they are…" The large beastman sitting atop the ornate throne, obscured by shadows, spoke in a low smooth voice.

"What shall we do about them, Sire?"

"We shall wait, at least for now. If they do anything else noteworthy, we shall crush them like insects."

"Noteworthy, sir?"

"Should they discover the relic of Gurren, dare I say, start amassing followers, then we will not hesitate to make them a priority."

"Sire, should we not attack them right away?" The soldier asked. "If we attack en masse, we'd easily be able to overtake-"

"If I may interject, young soldier." The large shadowy figure interrupted. "Could you come closer?"

"C-Closer, sir?" The soldier, having a somewhat greedy personality, and believing he was going to receive some kind of reward, stepped closer to the shadowy figure.

The giant figure grabbed the beastman's head and lifted him off the ground into the blackness of the shadow obscuring him. The soldier screamed, but the sound of crunching bone and blood splattering on the floor quickly overtook the cries for help. After a moment, a messy headless body flew out of the shadow across the room. The giant figure's guards watched silently, about half of them used to the sight of these grisly murders, and the other half, too horrified to speak.

"Let that be a lesson to the rest of you, men." The shadowy figure rose his voice, still smooth and deep, for the rest of the room to hear. "My word is law, and anyone who attempts to question my judgement will feel the full wrath of General Granze, as that pathetic excuse for a beastman did. Now, guards, leave me be. Unless you wish to join that fool in hell."

The guards retreated out of the room in an instant, terrified and impressed by the brutal General Granze at the same time. Granze sat alone in the room, and took a position as though he was in deep thought.

"It seems that soon the New Beastman Army has a new potential nemesis. How fun. I haven't had anyone to fight in ages. Perhaps these ones will live up to my expectations…."

CH. 4 END

Author's note: This time I thought I'd explore the origins of the 'new world' as opposed to the utopian state of the 'old world' at the end of Gurren Lagann. I know the chapter was wordier than usual, but it needed to be for the history bits. Next chapter is really the 'beginning of the adventure.' Thanks for reading.

-CK


	5. We'll Defend Your Home!

Chapter 5

"I'm hungryyyyy…" Adam whined as he tromped along in Lagann. The roof was open, the sun beating down on his head. He was wearing a rather silly looking pair of work goggles, since they were the only thing he had to keep the sun out of his eyes while he travelled. Eve walked alongside Lagann, scouting for any incoming Ganmen.

"Would you stop complaining already? I told you it'll be a couple of hours before we reach the next settlement. And anyway, it's your own fault for eating all the rations by yourself."

"But Eve…I need food! You told me that spiral energy is affected by hunger! What if we got attacked by a Ganmen right now?"

"Then I'd take care of it."

"And you complain about me being overconfident…Jeez, you're such a hypocrite…" Adam muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing!"

"Right. Anyway, I suppose we can stop and rest for a minute. It's really warm today…" With that, Eve put away her binoculars and sat down on the stony reddish ground.

Adam took his hands off Lagann's controls and leaned back, sighing. He and Eve had travelled for a few days without incident, during which time he had finished off the last of the food, and they were now facing running out of water as well. The whole situation had been one big annoyance for Adam, and Eve's calmness about the whole thing was starting to get on his nerves.

Adam made a feeble attempt to fan himself with his jacket. The heat was nearly unbearable today. He closed his eyes, only vaguely aware that Eve had started talking again. He decided to just nod and mumble 'yeah…' until she quieted down.

"Adam, there's a town! I thought we were miles away from the nearest settlement, but I can see one now!"

"Yeah…"

"Are you even listening?"

"Yeah…"

"Fine, then what did I just say?"

"Yeah…"

"I thought so. Now, Adam. Do you swear your eternal servitude to me as my personal lackey?"

"…..Hell no."

"That got your attention, did it? Are you listening now? There's a town up ahead, can you see it? Or is it just a mirage?"

Adam sat up, lazily looking out over the horizon. Sure enough, he could see a smattering of little buildings nestled in the sand.

"Holy crap! You weren't kidding! There really is a town there!" Adam yelled, grinning like a child at Christmas. "Now hurry up and get in Lagann! We're going to run there!"

"And how are we going to run? You were just saying how you didn't have any energy…."

"Well, now I've got some MOTIVATION!" Adam said, emphasising the final word with a shout as he scooped Eve up using Lagann's arm and dropped her into the passenger's seat. Without giving her time to protest, he shoved the controls forward and tore into a run towards the tiny buildings.

After about ten minutes of high speed running, the two travellers and their rusted mecha skidded to a stop just outside the village, which indeed was real. The faded sign at the gate told them both the village name, Sisao Village, and that beastmen and their Ganmen were certainly not welcome.

Adam raised an eyebrow as he looked around. The village looked like it was empty. He slowly eased Gurren into the center of the village and hopped out, with Eve following suit.

"Hey!" Adam called loudly. "Is there anybody in this village? We're not here to cause trouble!"

"Go away, you filthy beasts!" A faint voice emanated from one of the larger homes. "Didn't you see the damn sign out front? We're not looking to get slaughtered by the likes of you!"

"Who're you calling a filthy beast!" Adam yelled back indignantly, stomping towards the house the voice came from.

"That idiot is going to get us thrown out of here, and we just got here…." Eve muttered to herself, choosing to stay by Lagann rather than let herself get involved.

"Get out here, old man!" After a moment, Adam came out of the house, dragging a short round bald man behind him. "Do I look like a beastman to you? IDIOT!"

"S-Shut up! You're obviously a beastman! You've got a Ganmen! Although, it's a pretty pathetic looking one, if you ask me…"

"I'll kick your ass for saying that, old-timer!" Adam yelled, looking extremely annoyed. "This is the mighty Lagann! One half of the amazing duo Gurren Lagann!"

"Bah, that's a lie." The bald man said simply. "Lagann was clearly stated in historical records to be a mixture of red and yellow."

"It IS red and yellow! It's just...not in the best shape." Adam admitted, still looking annoyed. "If you'd listen to me, you'd know I'm a human and I found Lagann a few days ago!"

"But…That's…Alright, fine. You're too pathetic and scrawny looking to be a beastman anyway. So what'd you want? This village doesn't usually see travellers like you."

"Scrawny…I'll…No, nevermind…We're here for food, water and supplies. We're on a quest to find someone."

"Supplies? We need all of the supplies we can spare. Sorry, fella."

"The village seems pretty empty except for you, old man. Why wouldn't you be able to spare anything?"

"Because we're evacuating the village. A squad of Ganmen is coming, and we can't handle another attack. Not since they killed our last bunch of guards."

"Ganmen, eh? We've dealt with Ganmen before. How about we help you out in exchange for some food and supplies?"

"I should point out," Eve finally decided to speak up. "When Adam says we've dealt with Ganmen before, he means we've dealt with Ganmen once."

"Aww, shoot, that doesn't really matter. I'm sure the two of you can handle it." The man said as Adam let him go. "Name's Leni, by the way. I'm the mayor around these parts. So, you've got a deal. Take care of these Ganmen and I'll make sure you get your supplies. In fact, I'll even see to it that your stubby little mecha there gets a proper tune-up, since it looks like it needs it."

"Hell yeah! You've got a deal, old-timer!" Adam grinned. "We'll kick these beastmen's asses right back where they came from!"

"Adam, would you stop and think about things at least once in your life?" Eve sighed. "But, I suppose we do need the supplies, and Lagann would definitely benefit from some repairs…"

"Then it's settled! Listen up, old man! If you want me to beat these Ganmen, I'm gonna need a hot meal. Lagann kind of refuses to work when I'm hungry, so if I'm full, we'll be running at peak capacity."

"Alright, I suppose. All of the other villagers are holed up in their homes, so I'll just fix you something at my place. Come along."

Adam and Eve followed the mayor into his house, where he fed them a variety of hot dishes, Eve finishing long before Adam. Adam kept eating, up to the point where the mayor started to look worried that he wouldn't have any food left, and then, with a mighty belch, Adam leaned back in his seat.

"Disgusting…" Eve muttered.

"Thanks for the grub, old-timer!" Adam grinned. "Now I feel like I'm ready to wipe the floor with some beastmen…right after a short nap."

"Idiot! You need to be ready for the attack!" Eve swept her foot under Adam's chair, sending him crashing to the floor. Over the past few days, Eve had settled into a routine of physically abusing Adam whenever he started acting in a foolish manner…which seemed to happen a lot with Adam.

"Dammit! You could've broken my neck doing that!" Adam yelled. "What is it with you and kicking the crap out of me at every opportunity!"

"I wouldn't have to if you learned from your mistakes, you imbecile!" Eve yelled back. "Honestly, it's like dealing with a brick wall. But, no, I've met brick walls smarter than you…"

"Ohoho," The mayor laughed. "It's like watching an old married couple."

"Would you be quiet!" Adam screamed. "You're just going to make her angrier!"

And with that, Adam began receiving a barrage of swift kicks to the ribs, courtesy of an extremely irritated Eve. The abuse only stopped when a booming noise could be heard a good distance away.

"You hear that?" Eve asked.

"Yeah, I did." Adam stood up, rubbing the spot where he had received the kicks. "It's gotta be the Ganmen, right?"

"I would think so too." Eve nodded. "Are we ready?"

"Yeah, of course. What's a few broken ribs?" Adam grinned. "Let's go."

He and Eve headed out of the house. Adam readied his core drill to start up Lagann, while Eve ran a hand across her belt, checking her various spiral tools. Once Adam had hopped into Lagann and started it up, he saw them. Three silhouettes stomping towards the village. The Ganmen had arrived.

This time around, they looked quite different from the Ganmen Adam had fought a few days prior. This time there was a tall thin one, primarily bright blue in color, a round stout one with a deep green shade, and an odd looking gray one with four legs and no arms.

"LISTEN UP, SISAO VILLAGE!" A voice boomed from one of the Ganmen, but it was hard to tell which one at this distance. "YOU LITTLE PANSIES ARE ABOUT TO FEEL THE PAIN! YEAAAH!"

"Enge, isn't there a more…proper way you could phrase that?" A gentlemanly, snooty voice came from one of the other Ganmen. "We are, after all, going to reduce this village to a crater anyway. Why not do it with manners?"

"Target detected. Identified as Lagann, one half of the combining mecha Gurren Lagann. Shall we apprehend?" A third voice, calm and devoid of emotion followed. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that the loud voice belonging to the beastman called Enge was coming from the stout Ganmen, while the snooty one was coming from the thin one, leaving the third, emotionless voice to the spider-like one.

"MALYRO, YOU WEAKSAUCE SNOB! YOU'RE ALWAYS TRYING TO GET ME TO BE ALL PRIM AND PROPER AND CRAP!" Enge shouted to the thin Ganmen.

"That's because you talk in such a barbaric and undignified way, Enge. Do try to lower your voice once in a while. Look at Pai. He's always calm."

"Apprehend? Apprehend?" The spider-Ganmen, presumably belonging to Pai, continued to repeat its question, completely ignored by the other two.

Once they got closer, Adam listened to their back-and-forth banter for awhile before growing annoyed.

"Hey! You three!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "Are we gonna fight or what? Because I really don't have time to listen to you beastmen bicker like a bunch of old ladies!"

"Lagann identified. Apprehend?" Pai asked the other two. Finally, Malyro looked at the spider-like machine.

"Indeed. I'm sure General Granze would offer a handsome reward for Lagann, wouldn't you say, Enge?"

"HELL YEAH! GONNA KILL THIS LITTLE RUNT AND TAKE LAGANN!"

Malyro sighed in a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance as Enge used his Ganmen to start fist pumping. Pai ignored the two of them and continued to advance towards Adam and Lagann.

"Hey, Eve?" Adam said. "These three don't seem to be much more competent than the last guy we fought."

"You have a point, but keep in mind, there are still three of them. The four-legged one looks to be the most menacing. Although it has a critical weakness, I would guess."

"Really? What is it?"

"Well, it has four legs, so those four legs would probably be faster but weaker and less balanced than two. We destroy one or two of them and the Ganmen comes crashing down."

"I get it. So, how are we going to do that?"

"Leave that to me. You focus on dealing with the other two, alright? Only help me if I really need it." Eve took out her cable device as she said this.

"Alright. Let's get this party started!" Adam started running Lagann towards the other two Ganmen, leaving the spider-like one to Eve.

"OH, DAMN, HERE HE COMES, MALYRO!" The stout Ganmen screamed. "GET READY!"

"Of course." Malyro picked up the stout Ganmen.

"The hell are they doing?" Adam wondered to himself as he dashed towards them.

"FOOORRRMATION!" Enge shouted. "GIGANTIC CRUSHING BALLLL!"

And with that, the stout Ganmen curled into a smooth shiny green ball, which Malyro then proceeded to hurl at Lagann at high speed. Lagann just barely managed to leap over the careening ball, and kept running. Adam had almost reached Malyro's Ganmen when Lagann was suddenly tackled from behind by Enge, who had rolled back around and gone from ball form to normal form a moment before attacking.

"Gah-! Dammit! Get off me!" Adam yelled, swinging Lagann's fists wildly in an attempt to punch Enge and knock him off. He continued to punch Enge's Ganmen in the face repeatedly, leaving many dents but seemingly to no avail.

"YOU'RE JUST TOO WEAK TO DEAL WITH A REAL MAN LIKE ME!" Enge yelled in triumph.

It was at this point that Adam got a brilliant idea. Or rather, brilliant by Adam's usual standards.

"Oh, damn, you're right! You've got me! I just hope that whatever happens, I don't get crushed to death by a giant ball! That would be horrible!"

"….THAT'S TOTALLY WHAT I'M GONNA DO NOW!" Enge yelled. "HARDCOOORRRE! CRUSHING BALLLL!"

"Wait, Enge! He's obviously trying to trick you, you damned fool!" Malyro yelled.

Not listening to Malyro at all, Enge rolled his Ganmen into a ball, and Adam saw his opportunity. Mustering as much spiral energy as he could, he lifted the ball, slamming it onto the ground and leaping on top of it, using the sheer momentum to run on top of the ball and roll towards Malyro!

"Ngh-!" Malyro, as snooty as he was, avoided hitting either Lagann or Enge as they approached, not wanting to harm his comrade.

With a mighty kick, Lagann sent Enge flying straight for the center of Malyro's Ganmen, meaning the face. After kicking Enge, Adam sent Lagann up in a huge leap, putting the final stage of his brilliant plan into motion.

"Well, I figure, if Lagann is supposed to be able to combine with Gurren, who says it can't combine with other giant mecha too! Here we go…!"

Lagann went up and over Malyro and retracted its legs, replacing them with a large drill, which started shooting downwards towards the top of Malyro's Ganmen…!

**Meanwhile, at New Teppelin…**

"Sire, Sire! It would seem that Malyro, Enge, and Pai have engaged Lagann!" A beastman soldier ran into Granze's throne room.

"How surprising. I didn't think we'd cross paths again so soon. Such a shame it had to be those three who encountered it though…"

"Well, sir, Pai is with them, so if things get dire…"

"Yes, yes, of course. Pai is more than capable of dealing with Lagann. The other two, however…"

"What shall we do, sire?"

"We watch and wait for now. We may end up with Lagann in our hands by the end of the day, but then, we may not."

"Sire?"

"As a general, I know that war has a multitude of possible outcomes, but they really boil down to winning or losing. It'll all come down to who wants to win more. Us…or these hairless apes. We shall see."

"Yes, sir, of course. Shall I prepare a battalion should things go awry?"

General Granze glared at the soldier.

"You didn't hear what I just said to you? Leave this room and do nothing until I order otherwise, or do I have to get out of my chair?"

"N-No, sir!" The soldier hurried out of the room in a cold sweat.

"Good…I despise having to leave my chair for anything." Granze turned to a large monitor on the wall. "Bring up vital statistics for Malyro, Pai, and Enge. I want to monitor their progress against this human scum…"

CH. 5 END


	6. I'm Putting Everything On The Line!

Chapter 6

"Well, I figure if Lagann is supposed to be able to combine with Gurren, why shouldn't it be able to combine with other mecha too? Here we go!"

With that, Adam shoved Lagann's controls sharply downward, sending the machine's bottom drill careening towards the top of Malyro's thin lanky Ganmen. The drill slammed into the center of Malyro's head, or lack thereof since Ganmen are essentially walking heads with arms and legs, and spun downward, drilling deep into the thick metal that made up the Ganmen's hide.

"I say, what is this?" Malyro said with a calm demeanour. "you seem to have pierced my Ganmen's hide. That won't do…"

"MALYRO! YOU PANSY! YOU GONNA LET THIS PUNKASS STEAL YOUR GANMEN?" Enge had recovered from being thrown in ball form and was running back towards Malyro and Lagann. "DO SOMETHING!"

"I really don't understand what the issue here is." Malyro shrugged. "He's retracted his arms and legs, so he can't move."

"YOU IDIOT! DON'T YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT LAGANN?" Enge screamed at him. "IT CAN COMBINE WITH OTHER MECHA!"

"W-What? Then I'd better-"

Malyro wasn't able to finish his sentence, because at that moment, Adam came swinging down through one of the glass eye-windows, giving Malyro a swift kick to the face as he did.

"I'll be taking this Ganmen off your hands now!" Adam said, giving Malyro a swift punch after regaining his footing. Malyro was knocked against the Ganmen's wall, but quickly retaliated with a vicious right hook.

"Bah, you won't be taking anything, you brute!" The wolfish beastman said, giving Adam another hook punch and grabbing him by the hair. "I'm going to kill you and the girl, then take Lagann back to General Granze for a handsome reward!"

Adam winced, feeling the sting of Malyro's punches, along with the taste of blood in his mouth. After spitting a bit of blood out, he retaliated with a swift kick to Malyro's jaw, causing him to lose his grip on Adam's hair.

"Gah..! Damned human!" Malyro stumbled, and swung another clawed hand towards Adam's face, this time aiming for the eyes. Adam predicted this and grabbed Malyro's arm, deciding that they couldn't fight any longer in this cramped cockpit.

"That's right. I'm a damn human." Adam said with a grin, strong-arming Malyro and throwing him through the eye window that wasn't already broken. "And I'm also gonna be the one who brings down your General Granze too! So tell him to be ready, alright, beastman?"

Malyro responded with a scream as he flew out of the window, slamming to the ground below.

"E-Enge!" He winced in severe pain as he tried to stand. "We're retreating! Leave the humans for Pai to handle!"

"ALRIGHT, I GOT YOU!" Enge scooped up Malyro in the Ganmen's hand and started running. Unfortunately for Enge, he had stopped paying attention to Adam and Lagann.

Adam was already climbing back up the outside of the big skinny Ganmen towards Lagann. Once he reached Lagann, he climbed inside and gave the controls another mighty shove downward.

"Alright, Lagann! COMBIIIIINE!"

The head drilled deeper into the Ganmen's body until the drill itself could no longer be seen. Then, through the power of Adam's will to combine, the dark blue Ganmen instantaneously changed to the same rusty red color as Lagann, its arms and legs becoming slightly more well armoured. The eye-windows repaired themselves as well, shaping themselves like Adam's goggles.

"EVE! GET IN THE GANMEN NOW!"

Eve, who had been keeping Pai distracted with her spiral tools, glanced back at Adam, looking shocked at what he had done. He was already able to combine with another mecha? Not a chance…but then how was she supposed to keep thinking that when he stood tall in Lagann's latest body?

"R-Right!" She said, running away from Pai, who was tangled in her spiral cords but beginning to rip through them. Eve reached the Ganmen Lagann hybrid and easily climbed up the side of it, the mouth opening for her to enter when she reached it. She sat in the cockpit, still amazed that she was actually piloting the thing.

"Alright, you big insect!" Adam said, getting Pai's attention. "Listen up! It's not quite Gurren Lagann, but it's almost as awesome! We're still gonna kick your ass all the way back to New Teppelin, and that's a promise! We sent your little friends off crying, and now we're gonna do the same to you!"

"Impossible. It is statistically unlikely that you will be able to even dent my Arache. It is one of General Granze's finest weapons." Pai said, unconcerned.

"This combination represents our sheer force of will! Our desire to defend the weak, and defeat those who would wish harm upon them! Who the hell do you think we are? This is…Hosonogai* Lagann!"

(*Author's note: Hosonogai = Slender)

"What a waste." Pai said after a moment. "Malyro's Ganmen had a major flaw in its design. It has a long reach, with slender arms, but it sacrifices strength and armor in favour of speed and range."

Hosonogai Lagann started taking quick strides towards Arache, who was a good distance away. The distance was being closed very quickly, however, due to Hosonogai's high speed. Arache wasn't about to sit around and do nothing though. Without warning, the exterior flaps lining Arache's legs lifted, and a barrage of missiles flew out of each leg. Hosonagai, unfettered, kept dashing and weaving to avoid the numerous explosions the missiles made as they hit the ground.

Hosonogai closed in on Arache, and took a swing with its long arm, but just then, a single larger missile flew from Arache's nearest leg and blew off a sizeable chunk of Hosonogai's arm, causing wires and circuitry to dangle from the gaping hole.

"D-Dammit! He got the arm!" Eve yelled in frustration. "Adam! We're going to have to rethink this, or he'll tear us to pieces!"

"Tear us to pieces…That's it!" Adam shouted. "Let's try that!"

"What are you babbling about!"

"Grab Lagann's head and pull it out of Hosonogai!"

"Wha-"

"JUST DO IT!" Adam screamed as Hosonogai took a missile to the shoulder, leaving another gaping hole.

"Alright, alright!" Eve said, using Hosonogai's controls to grab ahold of Lagann, yanking it out. "What now?"

"You're holding a drill! Do the math, Shortstack!"

Eve considered this for a split second, and then got the picture. With a yell, she used the now-battered Hosonogai to leap onto Arache, and started tearing at it with vicious effort. Lagann's drill ripped through the giant silver machine fairly easily, causing a mess of scrap to fly everywhere. Eventually, Eve managed to tear through one of Arache's legs completely, causing it to stumble and crash to the ground.

"I see. You defy statistics, do you?" Pai said calmly as Arache fell. "Very well then. General Granze won't be pleased that I destroyed his machine, but I certainly can't move and fight properly with only three legs."

"To hell with Granze! We're going to beat you!" Adam yelled from Lagann as Eve continued to tear away at Arache's hull.

"I don't intend on giving you the satisfaction of doing so." And with that, Pai ejected from the large Arache, driving a much smaller version of the same Ganmen, and began skittering away. "120 seconds to self destruct. I suggest you get far away. When Arache's core detonates, Sisao Village will be vaporized by the blast."

"What? You bastard!" Adam yelled. "EVE! Get ready!"

"To do what? Run?"

Adam didn't answer. Instead, he quickly retracted Lagann's bottom drill, and its legs and arms popped out again. He leapt out of Hosonogai's hand and landed on the ground.

"Eve! Get out of Hosonogai!"

Eve did as she was told, slightly panicked under the pressure of the ticking time bomb that was Arache's remains. Adam scrambled up into Hosonogai, and once he was inside, he used as much spiral energy as he could muster to lift Arache's core piece, as the legs fell off, and began running away from the village.

"Adam! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Eve screamed at him, but Adam couldn't hear. With Hosonogai's speed, he was already a good distance away.

"If I don't make it out of this," He muttered, "I hope Eve finds Gurren and continues with our goal…"

Eve had lost sight of Hosonogai in the sand, and she was growing more and more worried with every passing second. Once the two minutes were up, she could see a ridiculously huge explosion in the distance, large enough to send a wave of dust all the way back to Sisao.

"Adam…! You…You…Idiot..." Eve couldn't believe what had just happened. Adam had sacrificed himself for a village he had never been to before. To save people he didn't know.

"You really are an idiot hero, aren't you...?" Eve murmured, wiping a tear from her eye. "Stupid fool…"

**Meanwhile, at New Teppelin…**

"Sire, we just lost Arache. Our trackers indicate its core was detonated."

"I see…So Pai saw no other option. Truly, he must have been desperate. These humans might be more cunning than we originally thought."

"It seems that Malyro lost his Ganmen to the humans as well. We got in contact with Enge and Malyro seems to be riding with him back to New Teppelin as we speak."

"Hmph. Incompetent fools." General Granze muttered. "I'll deal with them when they return. And what about Pai?"

"Pai escaped the blast zone in his mini-Ganmen. He's currently heading back to New Teppelin as well."

"And I'm to assume that Sisao Village is no more?"

"About that…"

"WHAT about that?" Granze asked, enunciating the 'what' with an angry tone.

"Right before we lost Arache's signal, it was miles and miles away from Sisao Village, sir. It seems that something caused it to move."

"Could that mean…Oh, this is brilliant." Granze began to laugh in a sadistic way. "One of the humans used Malyro's Ganmen to play the martyr. They carried the bomb off and let it explode a safe distance from the village."

"And that means, Sire?"

"Fool. It means that we have one less human to worry about. And retaking Lagann just got much, much easier." Granze smiled evilly under the cover of the ink-black shadow that his throne was draped in.

"Excellent, Sire. What's our next move?"

"We wait for those three imbeciles to return, and then we decide on a plan of action. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes, Sire!" The soldier retreated from the room, and Granze leaned on one hand as he sat.

"What will you do now, humans? Now that one of your number is gone?"

CHP. 6 END


	7. Nice To Meet You, Stranger!

Chapter 7

It had been 3 days since Adam had used Hosonogai to take the Ganmen-turned-timebomb Arache as far away from Sisao Village before it exploded. Eve had spent the three days there, unsure of what to do now that she was all alone again. She had Lagann, just like she had wanted, but it all seemed wrong.

Eve hadn't slept much over the course of the three days. She kept having nightmares involving seeing that ungodly sight. Hosonogai running off into the distance, and then an enormous explosion. She wasn't even sure why this was affecting her so much. She didn't care about Adam that much…did she? On this third afternoon, she was sitting in the house of Leni, the mayor. As he passed, he looked at her sympathetically.

"You know, Miss Eve, you're always welcome to stay here in Sisao. After all, it was you and that brave lad, Adam who saved us from the Ganmen…"

"No…No. I can't stay. I've still got things that need to be done. You understand, don't you?" Eve gave him a sad smile.

"Yes, I do." The mayor nodded his bald head. "Are you still going to go through with your plan? That whole Shin Dai-Gurren deal?"

"Well…I want to, but without Adam to lead it, I don't know how it's possible. I'm not a leader, just a follower. I wouldn't be able to handle a big group of people expecting me to defeat the beastmen."

"I'm sure that whatever you do, it'll be the right decision. But you can't give up on life just because Adam's gone. He seemed like the type who didn't care whether he lived or died, as long as he accomplished something worthwhile."

"Yes…That's what bothers me." Eve said. "He…He sacrificed himself to save a village of two dozen people. He had so much ambition, so why would he kill himself and end his efforts there?"

"I'm not sure, Miss Eve. But we're all eternally grateful for what he did. His sacrifice has not only saved our village from obliteration, but also given us the motivation to up our own efforts. We're building anti-Ganmen defenses around the village so that we don't need anyone else to make the same sacrifice Adam did."

"That's good. You seem like you've really figured out what's going to happen for Sisao. I just wish I knew what was going to happen for me…" Eve sighed.

She was certainly grieving. She had no doubts about that. The question was why she was grieving. She had seen a lot in her travels, including the fall of her own home at the hands of beastmen. So, why was she all broken up over Adam being gone? She hadn't known him long enough for that…

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

Adam rolled over onto his back and sat up. He was in that field of flowers again, with the grave, the ring, and the sword with a ragged cape tied to it. So, did that mean he was dreaming? No, that couldn't be it. The last thing he remembered was the explosion. He must have been dead.

"Well, that kinda sucks…" He murmured. "I was really hoping my plans for Shin Dai-Gurren would pan out."

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" A loud, boisterous voice called out. "What's all this I hear about Dai-Gurren!"

Adam glanced up, startled by the sudden outburst. He didn't see anyone around. He wrote it off as his imagination playing tricks on him and stood up. Suddenly someone grabbed the top of his head and shoved him down slightly with their strength.

"H-hey! What the hell!"

"Yo, kid! What are you doing hanging around here and talking to yourself about Dai Gurren for?"

Adam turned to look at the person gripping his head. There he saw one of the oddest looking people he had ever seen. The man wore no shirt, and tattoos snaked their way along his arms. He had blue hair, a furrowed brow, and a pair of bizarrely shaped red sunglasses.

"Uh…I was just talking to myself. No need to-"

"I KNOW you were talking to yourself! I just pointed that out! You stupid or something?" The man said. "What I asked was WHY you're sitting here talking to yourself, huh?"

"Uh…I don't know, I guess I have nowhere else to go."

He was rewarded for answering with a hard slap across the back of the head.

"Nowhere else to go? What the hell are you saying? You can go anywhere! Do anything! Be your own free man!" The man said in an overly dramatic voice. Was everything this guy said an inspirational speech?

"Hey, man, lay off. I just died trying to save a village."

The man gave him a confused look.

"You died? Then how am I talking to you right now, stupid?"

"I…don't know. Are you dead too?"

"Do I look dead to you?"

"Well, no…" Adam scratched his head where the man had swatted him. "What, does that mean I'm alive?"

"Why are you asking me? Do I look like I'd know?"

"Why do you keep avoiding my questions?"

The man stopped for a moment, and then laughed.

"I like you, kid! You remind me of somebody I knew a long time ago."

"I do?"

"Yeah, he was unsure of himself, just like you. He just needed a shove in the right direction, you know? His goals led him forward, and I pushed him from behind."

"And where is he now?"

"Well, that's tough to say. All I know is, it'd be quite a surprise for him if we met again!" The man laughed.

"So, who's buried here? I've been here before, but I don't recognize these graves." Adam said, changing the subject when he felt that the man wasn't going to tell him anything else about his friend.

"Oh, the graves?" The man glanced at the flowery tomb first, and then to the sword a short distance away.

"Well, this one belongs to a wonderful girl. She made a lot of people happy, and everyone was real sad to see her pass away. I never met her myself, but…I just know she was something else." The man sounded slightly wistful, like he was remembering days long gone by. "And that sword over there, that marks the grave of some hapless idiot who didn't know what the hell he was doing."

The man laughed, and Adam frowned, bothered that this man would speak ill of the dead like that, but he thought it better not to say anything, as the man looked a lot stronger than he did. Adam stood up.

"Well…I suppose I'll just start wandering."

"What, you're just going to walk around?"

"I guess so. I don't know where I am, and I have no idea where Lagann or Eve are…"

The man smiled at the mention of the word Lagann, like it was something he was greatly familiar with. He said something quietly, along the lines of 'So he's the one who…'

"Did you say something?" Adam asked, not noticing the man's smile.

"Oh, no. But listen to me, 'cause I'm about to tell you something really important. If you don't pay attention, I'm going to beat the lesson into you, got me?"

"U-um, sure."

"You're unsure of what to do now, right?" The man said seriously. "Well, know that there'll be a lot of people out there who believe in you, and there will be people who don't. Don't worry about whether or not you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. Don't worry about those people. I believe in you, but don't believe in the me that believes in you. Believe in the you that believes in yourself. Understand?"

"I think so…" Adam was utterly perplexed by that bizarre speech, but at the same time, he kind of understood it. "Right…Right! I understand! Thanks!"

"No problem. Just who the hell do you think I am? Someone who would let a confused guy like you walk around not accomplishing anything? Hell no!"

Adam grinned at the man, and the man gave him a brilliant smile back. This was a person that people could really look up to, Adam could feel it.

"Yo! What the hell are you doing, keeping us waiting?" A voice called from the distance. The man looked behind him when he heard this. Another man was waving off in the distance, and Adam couldn't really get a good look at him, but he could tell that he had blonde hair.

"Sorry, kid. I got a lot of friends waiting for me. See ya around, alright?" The man turned and began to walk towards the other man in the distance.

"W-wait!" Adam called, and the man stopped. "I should go too, I'm sure of what it is I want to do now. But can you at least tell me your name before we part ways? I mean, we might never meet again."

"Don't talk like that, kid. I'm sure our paths will cross again. But…my name?" The man mused without turning around. "My name's not that important, really."

"Please, I want to know."

"Alright. Its…."

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

The sun was setting on Sisao village. Eve was sitting in the center of the village, tuning up one of her spiral tools, when a villager went running past her.

"Mayor Leni! Mayor Leni!" The person shouted as he passed. "There's somebody coming! There's a person walking towards the village! Our watchtower spotted it!"

Eve glanced up on hearing this. Who could it be? A beastman? No, not without a Ganmen. Merchants? But why wouldn't they have a caravan? Or was it-?

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING A STRANGER?" A loud, familiar voice boomed. Eve froze. She knew who it was, but there was no way. There was absolutely no way he could have cheated death. It was just impossible.

"Pffft, stranger? Is that any way to talk to the man who SAVED your sorry asses?" The voice yelled. Eve stood, running to the village gate.

And there he was. Wearing a tattered, scorched jacket, his goggles shattered, covered in filth and carrying his messenger bag covered in sand, there stood Adam, grinning triumphantly.

"Did you really expect me to be beaten by a measly explosion? There's no way the leader of the soon to be Shin Dai-Gurren would ever let himself get taken out by something like that!" Adam laughed. "What are you staring at, Eve? You look like you've seen a ghost…"

"You…Adam…you…" She started running to him, and he opened his arms to hug her. She took a flying leap, and gave him a mighty dropkick to the face instead, dropping him to the ground "YOU IDIOT!"

"W-W-What the hell, Eve? I've been through all that and you kick me in the face?" Adam yelled at her. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" She yelled back. "What were you thinking, carrying a bomb off like that? Of all the stupid, reckless stunts you could pull, why did you have to pick this one, huh, you moron?"

"I was SAVING Sisao Village! That's what a hero does, remember?"

"You were being an imbecile…but I'm glad you're all right." Eve muttered, looking away from him. "Don't do crap like that anymore, alright? I thought I was going to have to pilot Lagann by myself from now on…"

"You were totally worried about me." Adam smirked and started speaking in a sing-song voice. "You were worried about me~!"

"Was not!" Eve blushed slightly and gave him a swift kick. "Now shut up! I want you to see something."

She led him into the village, passing the mayor, who looked positively dumbfounded that he had returned. Eve lead Adam to a big building and stopped.

"This is the village garage. They repair the machines that passerby bring them. Now take a look at what the kind people of Sisao Village did for us."

She pulled up the metal garage door, and Adam's jaw dropped. Inside the garage, surrounded by a number of tools, polish and paint, was the once-brown and rusted Lagann, except now it was covered in a restored red and yellow paint job, and shone brightly. Lagann had been restored to its former glory.

"I assume you'll be wanting this back?" Eve twirled the core drill necklace on her finger. "After all, the captain of the future Shin Dai-Gurren should never be without the keys to his ship, right?"

Adam flashed his usual grin.

"Damn right. Now, let's get outta here. We've still got a ton of stuff to do."

Eve nodded, and held up a large bag.

"Here's all the supplies we'll need for the next leg of the journey."

"Kick-ass! Food!" Adam yelled happily, right before his stomach growled. "I could definitely go for some grub right now…"

"Alright, alright." Eve laughed. "We'll eat, rest up, and leave in the morning."

Adam and Eve had a big dinner at the mayor's place, during which Adam explained how he had survived the blast, to the best of his knowledge.

"Well, I built up momentum and speed using Hosonogai, and then dove out. Hosonogai ran for about another mile by itself before the bomb exploded, and I started running as soon as I hit the ground. I was just barely able to outrun the blast, but my coat wasn't so lucky. It was scorched by the heat, and the blast sent me flying a good ways. I must have hit my head on a rock and gotten knocked unconscious because I had a weird-ass dream that I won't get into. I woke up later, and spent the last day and a half walking back to Sisao. I didn't stop once.

The mayor was impressed by Adam's story, but Eve chalked it up to dumb luck. They went to bed afterwards, in separate rooms upon Eve's insistence, and woke up the next morning, hopped into Lagann and started trotting away after saying their goodbyes. Neither of them said anything once they were on their way again, until about an hour later, when Eve finally broke the silence.

"Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"Of course I do. Who the hell…" Adam remembered the man he had met at the graves. "You know what? I should get a pair of badass sunglasses. That'd be the official symbol of the Shin Dai-Gurren's leader."

"Jeez, what would give you an idea like that?" Eve muttered.

Adam just grinned, recalling his conversation with the mysterious blue haired man. Remembering this, he murmured something quietly, so quietly that Eve didn't catch it.

"Believe in the me who believes in myself, huh…?"

CH. 7 END

Author's note: Well, there's the first canon-character to make a cameo in Return To The Heavens. I felt as though it was somewhat obligatory, but I want to incorporate more familiar characters into the story later on, since it IS a Gurren Lagann fic. Anyway, I saw how many hits I've gotten over the course of the last couple days, and that's why I've been uploading so quickly. The story's going really well, I think, and I want to make it something that you'll all want to follow in the near future. Thanks a lot for taking time to check this out. It REALLY means a lot.

-CK


	8. Let's Keep Going, As Far As We Can!

Chapter 8

"Jeez, sleeping again?"

Eve frowned upon hearing Adam's familiar snoring. It was starting to seem like every time she went on ahead to scout, he saw it as a time to catch a quick nap. She kept coming back to find him stretched out in Lagann, fast asleep. Eve was starting to learn a lot about Adam, having travelled with him for the past two months.

"Lazy ass." She muttered. "And to think he's got a bunch of other bad habits too…But I did warn him what would happen if I caught him sleeping again."

She reached into a small holster on her belt and pulled out an equally small silver device. Her palm glowed bright green for a moment as she fed spiral energy into the device, which then gave a quick spark of the same color. She vaulted up Lagann's leg to the open top, where she could see Adam, who was snoring away.

"Rise and shine, you lazy bastard…" Eve grinned malevolently.

She prodded Adam with the device, now charged with a small portion of her spiral energy. Adam gave a yelp and convulsed for half a minute, and then sat up, breathing heavily.

"Dammit, Eve!" He yelled. "You said you'd stop shocking me with that thing!"

"You said you'd stop sleeping in the middle of the day." She retorted. "I was just helping you keep your promise. And it's not like it'd have killed you. I didn't pump enough spiral energy into the prod to even stun you."

"Either way, it stings like hell! Stop doing it!" He pouted a bit, rubbing the side where she had prodded him.

"Get over it. Now, what's our next move?" Eve asked, ignoring Adam's whining.

"Well, Lagann's all fixed up and ready to go. We can either start looking for Gurren, or we can take some time and see if we can't track my bro down."

"It would make more sense to seek out your brother. After all, we have no leads on where Gurren is."

"We don't have any leads on where my brother is either…"

"Ah, but we do. At least, possibly. You see, it's common for people without homes to head for the biggest settlement they can find. So, I believe we might find your brother at a large settlement. Do you understand?"

"You don't have to spell it out. I'm not stupid." Adam griped, looking annoyed.

"Sometimes I wonder. Anyway, the largest settlement around here is New Jiha." Eve continued. "Does it ring a bell?"

"No, should it?"

"I would think so, given you have a rudimentary knowledge of Simon."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"Because the story goes that back when human villages were underground, Simon lived in Jiha Village. Once humans made their way to the surface, it became a city, and then during the transition from old-world life to new-world life, it became a smaller settlement, like a town. It's now known as New Jiha, because it was founded by descendents of people from the original underground village."

"I get it. So you think my brother will be there?" Adam asked.

"It's just a hunch, but it can't hurt to go there anyway. New Jiha frequently comes under beastman attack, so that's where mercenaries and bounty hunters go to make a quick buck. We might be able to find someone to join Shin Dai-Gurren there, which would definitely help, considering we're only at two people."

"But we don't have any money." Adam pointed out.

"No, we don't…I guess we'll just have to earn some, huh?" Eve smiled in a dark way, like she was planning something.

"Right…She said she comes from a rich family. No wonder she gets that greedy look on her face when we discuss money…" Adam murmured.

"I heard that. And I'm not greedy, just enterprising."

"Right, whatever you say, you little miser."

And with that, Adam started tromping off with Lagann, forcing Eve to chase after him and hop in. She gave him a hard punch in the shoulder for attempting to desert her, and then pointed towards the west.

"That's the direction to New Jiha."

"And how can you tell that from here?"

"Well, take a look. You can see a lot farther when the land is flat, right? Well, if you look closely, you can see…Yes, there it is." Eve pointed to a distant cluster of shapes, with a smoky haze overlooking them. "New Jiha is within sight already, although by no means are we close. It'll probably take a solid four days to get there."

"Four days? Dammit!" Adam thumped a fist on Lagann. "I dunno if I can wait that long!"

"What's with you? If your brother is there, it's unlikely he's going anywhere."

"It's not that." Adam looked up with a grin. "I didn't tell you this before, but I'm really enjoying all this adventure. Getting to see new places, kicking Ganmen ass, helping people, I love it."

"Really?" Eve looked bemused. "You keep complaining about not having good food, all the constant travelling, and being bored. I figured you were just doing this so you could find your brother."

"Nah, I've always wanted to get out and see the world. That's what my brother wanted too, and being older, he beat me to it. But we promised that when we left home, we'd seek each other out and travel together, making a name for ourselves" Adam explained, looking unusually serious.

"You made a promise to meet up?" Eve asked. "Did you know how hard that would be? The world is a big place."

"I didn't know that, to be honest. I figured it was much smaller than what we're seeing now. I stayed at home with my ailing father, since there was nobody else to take care of him. Unfortunately, he died not long ago. I wasn't sure what I should do, until I remembered the promise, and then I set out."

"That's quite a story." Eve said, sounding earnest. "Would you like to hear mine?"

"Uh, yeah, sure…but why? You're usually so tight-lipped about everything." Adam looked confused.

"S-shut up!" Eve snapped "I'm trying to be nice, alright? Now are you going to let me continue or not, you moron?"

"Nice, sure. Anyway, continue." Adam said, looking amused.

"I grew up in one of the larger settlements, across the ocean. My family ran a cargo company, which earned us a lot of money, so we were extremely well off. We shipped supplies out to caravans and villages. Anyway, the New Beastman Army noticed that we were making one of the biggest profits in this region, and demanded a sizeable cut. My father refused."

"What happened?"

"The settlement was razed to the ground, and the only ones to escape were my father's friend, and me. Since my father's friend was in a caravanning company, he took me with him on the road, and we travelled all over the land. I grew up, and we parted ways after that. I came here to find Gurren Lagann so I strike back at New Teppelin. I had heard all about how Gurren Lagann and Simon fought for humanity's rights long ago from my father's friend, and I decided I'd do the same."

"Huh, and here I thought you were going to sell Gurren Lagann." Adam smirked. "Who would have thought you had noble intentions this whole time. Foolish, but definitely noble."

"What do you mean 'foolish'?" Eve snapped at him. "You want to do the exact same thing!"

"Well, yeah, but I want to share the glory with a bunch of people. I can't fight an entire empire by myself, right? You make it sound like you wanted to fly solo."

"I did…" Eve muttered, sounding a bit defeated. "And I was wrong to think so."

"You bet your ass you were wrong. Now, can we go already? I'm excited for this whole New Jiha thing."

"Of course. And we would have been on the road faster if you hadn't stopped us to swap stories. So don't blame me for your own choices, fool." Eve criticized. "Now move! Move!"

"What do I look like? A pack mule?" Adam griped but he turned Lagann towards the cloud of hazy dark shapes in the distance and brought Lagann up to a sprint, dashing off across the flat sandy landscape.

**Meanwhile at New Teppelin…**

"What have you found out?" General Granze asked the beastman researcher bowing as his feet.

"Sire, we have unconfirmed reports that Lagann and the human piloting survived Arache's self destruction. Granted, they ARE unconfirmed…"

"The human survived? Hm…how fascinating." Granze smirked slightly. "Like a little cockroach, it continues to hold on to its life."

"What do you intend to do, Sire?"

"I intend to continue on the same path I've been on. These humans will act eventually, and when they do, I will know." As he said this, Granze looked over at a cloaked figure standing in amongst the guards. "And then I shall allow my protégé to see a bit of action."

"….Thank you, General Granze." The figure said in a low, raspy voice. "When that time comes, I will not fail you."

"I know you won't." Granze nodded. "Now, all of you. Leave me be."

The guards and the researcher hurried out of the room in a mild panic, while the cloaked figure slowly sauntered his way out.

CHAPTER 8 END

Author's note: Yeah, this chapter is a bit short, but I needed to take some time to explain Adam and Eve's origins at least partially, since I wasn't sure myself where they would have come from. I have big things in store once they make their way to New Jiha, however, including a surprise cameo in one of the upcoming chapters, so look forward to that. As always, thanks for reading. It's entirely due to the fact that people have been checking this little tale out that I've been so excited to continue it.

-CK


	9. Is Being Lazy All You Can Do?

Chapter 9

"And why should I?" Adam demanded.

"Because it stinks like charcoal, that's why!" Eve yelled at him. "And along with that, there's a lingering stench like you haven't washed it in years!"

"I've been in the desert for the past few months! When the hell am I going to wash a jacket? And if I remember correctly, it's scorched because of an explosion that I saved YOU and a village full of people from!" Adam was in high-octane argument mode. "Tell me, do you see any bodies of water around here? I didn't think so!"

"I'm not putting up with you wearing that ratty old thing anymore, Adam. It makes you look homeless, and it smells like burnt garbage. Both of those things factor into me not wanting to be seen in your company."

"I told you, I'm not getting rid of the jacket! No way in hell!" Adam crossed his arms, looking serious. "It's not happening."

Eve sighed in irritation. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to play her trump card. "What are the members of Shin Dai-Gurren going to think when they see that their future leader wears a piece-of-crap jacket like that? They're not going to take you seriously and you know it."

"…Uh, I'm…That is…" Adam stammered. "I mean…Ha! Ha ha ha!"

He started laughing, sounding overly dramatic and definitely forced. Eve just shook her head.

"You can't laugh it off, Adam. You know I'm right, like always."

"Bah!" Adam said, and with a flourish, he flung his jacket off, letting it fall to the ground. "The leader of Shin Dai-Gurren doesn't need this old thing! The leader of Shin Dai-Gurren should wear something that's as great and inspiring as he is!"

"Oh jeez. There's that ego of his again…" Eve muttered. "And of course, he's not wearing a shirt underneath…."

"Now!" Adam said, sitting back down in Lagann. "How close are we to reaching New Jiha? Can you check?"

"Why can't you do it? I mean, you can see it from anywhere in the desert, right?" Eve mumbled as she got out her binoculars. "Looks like…We're not far. It'll still be another couple days."

"Right. Then we should decide what we're going to do!" Adam proclaimed. "We'll need a plan for when we get there, right?"

"Well, we'll need money. Nobody is going to want to join a revolutionary force led by someone without a penny to his name. Doesn't that make sense?"

"It sure does. You were talking about finding mercenaries to join, right?"

"Yes. If we convinced a mercenary to join Shin Dai-Gurren, then we'd have someone with some combat experience on our side."

"That sounds good to me. As long as we don't get any weirdos on our team."

"It takes all types to make the world go round, doesn't it?" Eve responded. "Aside from a mercenary, it wouldn't hurt to have a mechanic. Then we wouldn't need to spend unnecessary time held over in towns waiting for Lagann to be repaired by the local garage."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Adam grinned, pushing Lagann's controls forward quickly, making Lagann start running towards the big outline of New Jiha in the distance.

Lagann and its two occupants travelled swiftly across the desert. The sun rolled its way across the sky as they travelled, sand flying up with every step. A couple hours passed, and the outline of New Jiha inched ever closer. But suddenly, Adam brought Lagann to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Eve asked. "We're wasting time. Come on-"

"Eve. Do you hear that?" Adam looked uncharacteristically serious. "There's a noise."

"Your ears are probably just ringing…" Eve muttered. "Now come on."

"No, something is definitely coming. Something big." Adam looked up.

Just as he said, an enormous airship flew overhead.

"What in the hell is that?" Adam was in awe, and his face showed it, along with a little bit of enthusiasm at something he had never seen before. "It looks…amazing!"

"That's an airship. They're used for all sorts of things, but…Oh crap, Adam, get ready! You only ever see beastmen airships nowadays! They're going to-"

A huge object flew out of the airship at ridiculous speed, slamming into the ground not far from where Lagann stood. The blast rolled Lagann back a few hundred feet. As the dust settled, an enormous Ganmen stood from the impact crater. It looked around a few times, and froze when it saw Lagann sprinting back towards it.

"Well, well, well!" A new, indolent voice emanated from the massive figure. "I was dropped here for a routine attack on New Jiha, and what do I find? A little Lagann for me to kick around and take back to the boss man. I guess I lucked out, eh?"

"This guy sounds like he's half-asleep…" Adam raised an eyebrow. "And we're going to have to fight this lazy bastard?"

"I doubt he's going to let us get away without a fight. And even if we skip out on fighting him, he said he was going to attack New Jiha. Are you going to let that happen?"

Adam grinned.

"Of course not! Who the hell do you think I am?"

"I thought so." Eve smiled. "Now, what's the plan?"

"Hey, down there." The voice called. "Name's Oblomov. But that name's stupid, and it takes too long to say, so just call me Ob."

A yawn could be heard from the Ganmen. Clearly Ob was bored, and considering a nap. His Ganmen was of standard built, but had long, lanky arms, undoubtedly good for swinging around with long reach and little effort. The big machine started casually sauntering towards Lagann.

"He's moving really slowly." Eve observed. "It should be probably be pretty easy to outmaneuver, but he's got a long reach. What do you think, Adam?"

"I think this is going to be our easiest fight yet!" Adam looked excited. "Now, let's roll!"

"Jeez, are you even listening to me?" Ob called. "So rude…Manners are a virtue, you know. Everyone says I'm real easy to talk to, so it's all good. It's not like I'll insult you or anything…"

"Hey! Big guy!" Adam called. "I didn't catch your name!"

"You mean…Ahh, dammit…I'm not repeating it." Ob groaned. "…Oh fine, I'll repeat it. Name's Obla-"

Lagann dove at one of Ob's Ganmen's legs and started drilling into it.

"Hey…! That's really rude, you know. And if there's one thing I hate…"

Lagann continued to dig through the Ganmen's leg plating, with Adam ignoring everything Ob was saying. The little mecha had reached an area just above the Ganmen's knee when Ob finally noticed what was happening.

"Dammit…! You're still down there? Just drilling through Ethol's leg? Annoying little humans…And no manners at all!" Ob reached down and picked Lagann off the leg and held it up to the Ganmen's face.

"You're pretty tiny. I could crush you with a single move…But that's way too much work, y'know. I believe that manners are the most important thing that either a human or a beastman can have…" Ob began to rant again.

"He's kind of annoying." Adam frowned. "I had a big strategy all planned out in my head too. But I guess this'll have to do…"

Lagann began to drill through Eloth's hand, chipping away at the armor quickly, and reaching the inner wiring next. Sparks were flying and bits of circuitry and metal fell to the ground below, and within a few minutes, Lagann had bored through Eloth's hand and leapt to its shoulder.

"Where did he…? Aww, hell!" Ob groaned. "Really? I spaced out again and you exploited it! Dammit…"

"Really, buddy!" Adam called, feeling that it was time for the hero's speech. "Now, you gotta shape up or ship out! You lazy punk! You're never going to get anywhere just sitting on your ass! Lazing around doing nothing? That's a load of crap! That's not the way Team Shin Dai-Gurren rolls, beastman!"

"Shin Dai-Gurren…?" Ob let out a light, laid-back laugh. "Dai-Gurren hasn't been around for a loooooong time, bro. And if you think you'll be able to start it up again, well…I've never been one to stomp all over people's dreams."

"What…?" Adam was extremely dumbfounded. This guy was nothing like other beastmen. "Seriously, what's your problem?"

"Problem? There you go again…being rude." Ob sounded annoyed. "Jeez, you know what? One of Eloth's hands is busted, so I'm gonna go back to base camp and tell them I had mechanical troubles. But first…See ya later, Mr. Shin Dai-Gurren!"

And with that, Eloth grabbed Lagann with its still-working hand and turned around, winding up and hurling Lagann west at high speed.

"Dammit, Adam!" Eve screamed. "You couldn't have finished him off !"

"Don't blame me!" Adam shouted back. "This is a load of crap! I wasn't expecting him to throw us!"

"Idiot! You should have known he was going to attack in some way!"

"Well I didn't! And, hey! Look at that!"

"What?" Eve asked after swatting the back of Adam's head.

"He threw us toward New Jiha!"

Lagann sailed through the air, the sight of the large, nearly city-sized settlement surrounded by a giant metalwork fence. And with every passing second, Lagann was gaining speed and velocity.

"Adam, retract the drills."

"…I can't."

"What do you mean 'you can't'?" Eve looked annoyed and dreaded the inevitable answer.

"They're not retracting. Oh, wait, there we go!" Adam's tugging on the controls stopped. "Oh wait. That's the legs and arms. Now the giant drill on the bottom is sticking out. Dammit!"

"Adam, you moron!"

Another hit to the back of the head. A few more seconds passed, the city growing ever closer. More and more seconds passed, more yelling from Eve, more panicking from Adam, and then…

A deafening crash. Lagann rolled a good fifty feet, the drill spontaneously retracted, the legs and arms popped out again. Lagann steadied itself, and then sat down, smoke pouring out of the sides. Adam sighed and sat back, sighing in relief. Eve tried to mat down her now-incredibly-messy short silver hair, glaring at Adam furiously. But when Adam opened the top of Lagann and stood up to look around, Eve's look of fury paled in comparison to the fifty-odd looks of rage, along with the fifty-odd aimed weapons that accompanied them, from what appeared to be New Jiha's security forces.

"Um…Eve?"

"Yes, Adam?"

"I don't think they were happy with our entrance."

CH. 9 END

**Omake Segment 1: Cast Interview 1**

**Adam**

_Hello there, Adam._

Adam: Who the hell are you? And how did I get here? Wasn't I just surrounded by a bunch of armed guards?

_Quiet, you. Don't question what doesn't concern you._

Adam: I think that DOES concern me. I mean, I'm about to die, right? Isn't that kind of something that would concern me?

_I said shut up. You can be replaced in the story, you know. I wonder how the readers would react to a mysterious, brooding new hero…_

Adam: …I'll be quiet now.

_I thought so. Now, I'm going to ask you some questions._

Adam: Oh, alright, I guess.

_First of all, I think we'd all like to know. Eve's hair color is silver, but what is yours?_

Adam: Uh…Brown? It's really not all that special…

_Oh, okay. Just thought I'd ask. Alright, now for the next question._

Adam: *sigh* Fine.

_Am I boring you?_

Adam: In a word, yes. In three words, OH GOD, YES.

_Note to self, put out casting call for a new main hero…_

Adam: I'm sorry! *bows repeatedly*

_I was only kidding. Now, what's it like travelling with someone like Eve?_

Adam: She's really uptight, and she's kinda greedy. She always insists on a slightly bigger portion of food because 'she's a lady.' She also has a habit of pointing out my flaws. All the time, I might add. That being said, she's really nice deep down, and I know she's always got my back.

_Sounds like you two are quite a pair. Do you think there's…anything between the two of you?_

Adam: Between us? Oh! Hell no! Nope. Uh-uh. Not a chance. Never. Not in a million years. Infinitely impossible….

_Okay. I get it. Nothing._

Adam: That's right. Nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G…

_Jeez, alright. If I interview Adam any longer, this headache I seem to be developing will only get worse, so let's cut it short. Thanks for watching!_

Adam: Nooooooooothing~…

OMAKE 1 END

Author's note: Okay, a couple notes. For those curious about the origin of Oblomov's name, it comes from the main character of the Russian novel of the same name. (Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov, to be precise.) Oblomov is incredibly lazy in the novel, failing to leave his bed for the first 150 pages of the book. The second note, this marks the first omake segment, simply because the chapter ran a bit short. If you like them, let me know, if not, say so. I'll try to avoid using them if the response is negative. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading!

-CK


	10. We're Gonna Show You What We Can Do!

Chapter 10

"Now, let's try and be civil about this." Eve said to the armed guards, raising her arms and elbowing Adam in the ribs to make him do the same.

"You destroyed one of New Jiha's walls! And you're driving a Ganmen!" One of the guards yelled. "You're beastmen! Did Granze send you?"

"Beastmen? Oh, jeez…" Adam muttered. "Hey, listen, dumbasses! Do we look like beastmen to you? We're humans! And this is no ordinary Ganmen! This is Lagann!"

The comment was met with silence, followed by uproarious laughter.

"Lagann was lost hundreds of years ago!"

"There's no way a shrimp like you could have found it!"

"And if you did find it, then where the hell is Gurren?"

"HEY!" Adam yelled, causing the crowd's comments to cease. "This is Lagann! You people are just too jaded to believe it!"

"Ooooh~!" A rather unique voice that stood out could suddenly be heard. "Lagann, huh? It's been a long time~…"

A slender man with short green hair, looking to be just barely approaching middle age, stepped forward from the crowd, swooning animatedly.

"Who the hell…?" Adam muttered.

"That's definitely Lagann!" The man said loudly for the crowd to hear. "I should know, having worked with Dai-Gurren for so long~…."

"D-DAI-GURREN?" Adam and Eve both looked positively dumbfounded. "H-How…?"

"Oh, you silly kids." The man said. "If you had wanted to come into the village, they would have let you in at the gate, y'know~"

"For some reason, this guy really rubs me the wrong way, Eve…" Adam muttered under his breath.

"You might want to be careful what you say." Eve responded. "We're still being held up at gunpoint…"

"Alright, boys~" The man said. "Let them go see the mayor about paying for repairs. I'm sure that they'll be able to afford it, right?"

"N-No, actually…We're flat broke. That's why we came here." Adam said, sheepishly. "We were hoping to-"

"You had no money and yet you still broke through the wall?" The strange man shook his head, smiling mysteriously. "Tsk, tsk."

"What's all the commotion?" An old man came storming up. "What are you all standing around here for…and what in the hell happened to my beautiful wall?"

"These kids came bursting in riding Lagann and broke it." The strange man said casually. "And yes, it is the real thing. I'd recognize it anywhere."

"Oh, Leeron. You're back in town? How's New Littner?" The old man looked pleased to see the strange, oddly youthful man.

"Oh, you know~" Leeron responded. "Same old, same old. It's nice to be able to relax and just get back to mechanics now though. Helping keep the world in shape was fun, but once human control fell apart, y'know, I just thought it was time for an extended break."

"Of course…" The old man said. "Now, you two, using Lagann for despicable vandalism! You should be ashamed!"

"Mmm~, Mayor, what if we had them compete in the arena?"

"Arena?" Adam asked curiously, getting another elbow from Eve that told him to keep his mouth shut.

"Yes, the arena." The mayor nodded. "People build their own Ganmen, or possibly steal them from beastmen if they're lucky, and compete in the battle arena. It gives the people around here something to look forward to, and it gives a source of income to those who don't want other work."

"Sounds AWESOME!" Adam looked excited.

"Adam, you idiot!" Eve hit him across the back of the head, forgetting to keep her hands up. "You're going to get us in even more trouble with that damned mouth of yours!"

"Oooh~! This little girl has got a razor-sharp attitude, doesn't she~?" Leeron exclaimed, causing Eve to give him a nasty look. "Now, now, it was just an offhand comment. Anyway, I must be getting back to New Littner, but you can bet I'll be back to see Lagann fighting~! Toodles!"

And with that, Leeron started heading out of the village gate. At this point, the crowd was losing interest in Adam and Eve, and was starting to disperse a little. Even the guards had lowered their weapons.

"So, you'll be participating in the arena, you two?" The mayor asked. "That seems like the fastest way for you to earn the money to pay for the wall you broke."

"Of course we'll be participating!" Adam said happily. "Who the hell do you think we are? We'll participate in your little arena, and you know something? We're gonna win!"

"Adam…" Eve groaned. "Come on. Do you have to dive headfirst into absolutely everything? I mean, really. Are we going to engage in such an undignified, barbaric sport?"

"Yeah, we are! It'll give everyone here a chance to see what Team Shin Dai-Gurren is made of!"

"Jeez…" Eve sighed. Adam's impulsive behaviour was starting to get on her nerves again. "Fine, fine. We'll do it. But if we don't win, it's your fault for not being good enough."

"That won't happen, because I'm not gonna lose. That's not the way the leader of Team Shin Dai-Gurren rolls!"

"Shin Dai-Gurren…?" The mayor, who had silently been following the conversation, looked confused. "Dai-Gurren hasn't been around for generations, you know."

"Yeah, and that's why I'm going to create a new generation of Dai-Gurren members!" Adam said proudly. "We're going to mount an assault on New Teppelin, and beat the crap out of the beastman general!"

"Adam, would you SHUT UP?" Eve slapped the back of his head. "That isn't something you go around telling everyone!"

"Sorry, sorry…" Adam muttered, rubbing his head where she hit him. "Anyway, yeah. We're gonna win this arena thing."

"I'll register you two and Lagann then." The mayor said. "In the meantime, there's a house in town that nobody's using, in the low-resident district. You can stay there for the time being."

"Low-resident district?" Eve asked.

"Oh, you're new. Right." The mayor said, a bit absently. "Residences in New Jiha are split up between the high-resident district, where the big houses are, and the low-resident district, where newcomers and people without much money live. Just follow the signs and you'll be able to find the low-resident district easily."

With that, the mayor tossed them a house key marked "214" and turned to leave, giving a small wave before walking away.

"Well? What should we do now?" Eve asked Adam when the mayor had gone.

"I suppose we should go find this house we're going to stay in. It'll give us a chance to look around town a bit. This place is really something." Adam said, glancing around. "This is easily the busiest place I've ever seen."

"Of course." Eve nodded. "This is one of the most developed human settlements in the region. There are bigger ones elsewhere, but this is practically a city compared to most of the villages in the desert."

Adam pushed Lagann's controls forward gently, causing it to start walking. As they went, Lagann attracted the looks of quite a few passing civilians, but most people were too busy to be bothered. New Jiha was a marvel to look at, with multiple ramps leading up to second-level shops, walkways stretching out overhead, and an all-around masterful vertical design to the whole place.

Adam followed the various signs, leading him and Eve into a quieter section of town, where the bustling sounds of villagers going about their daily lives were harder to hear. There were less people here, and it was a lot shadier, due to the lines of houses, packed side-by-side in tight alleyways. Adam led Lagann all over the district, checking the signs in front of the homes, and stopping in front of the one with the '214' sign.

"Looks like this is it…"

"Ugh, what a shabby house." Eve exclaimed.

"We can't all live in big fancy houses like you, little rich girl." Adam said, looking annoyed that Eve was being so picky. "I grew up in a house like this, so I don't mind it. There's even a small garage to keep Lagann in while we're here."

"It's still shabby. I don't like it."

"Of course not…" Adam sighed. "This is what I get for travelling with a snob…"

"I'm not a snob! I just don't like the house!"

Adam ignored her complaints and moved Lagann into the garage, taking the core drill out and putting it in his pants pocket, heading in the house. Eve followed him begrudgingly. The interior of the house was simplistic, with only a single bedroom, a bathroom and a simple kitchen. Having to sleep in the same room as Adam only added onto Eve's apparent hatred of the house, but she merely sulked.

The two of them had a brief spat over who got to bathe first, with Eve winning. After their baths, Adam and Eve set out their blankets on the rather shabby floor and quickly fell asleep, having been worn out from the day's events.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

The next morning, Adam woke up early, well before Eve. He went out to the garage and was met with a shock.

"What the hell happened to Lagann?" He yelled into the otherwise empty room.

Lagann was still there, but attached to its sides were two large black box-like devices. In Lagann's open cockpit there was a note, sitting on the pilot's seat. Adam picked up the note and examined it.

'To ensure that you won't leave New Jiha until you pay your debt to us, I took the liberty of having these locks installed on Lagann. If you stray outside the city limits, the locks will activate and shut down Lagann's interior systems. If you don't want to do irreparable damage to this priceless machine, I recommend you pay your debt honestly. Also, you're registered for the arena, as requested. Your first match will be this afternoon. I wish you the best of luck.'

Mayor Eppe

"What kinda name is Eppe…?" Adam mused. "And is all this really necessary? I mean, I intended to pay the debt anyway…"

"What's all the yelling about?" Eve's voice came from behind him sleepily. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Oh, did I wake you?" Adam turned. "Wow. Even with such a short boy's haircut, you're still a mess in the morning."

"Shut up…" Eve mumbled, still half-asleep. "And I don't look like a boy. It's just short. Long hair gets in the way, and it's hard to take care of."

"That's not important right now. Look at this." Adam said, pointing at the lock devices. "These things will wreck Lagann's inner workings if we try to take it out of town before we pay our debt for the busted wall! Can you believe this?"

"I guess we'll just have to pay our debt." Eve said matter-of-factly.

"Ahh, I guess so. Also, our first fight in the arena is this afternoon."

"We're fighting already?" Eve asked. "That was quick…"

"Yeah, and we're going to do our best, right?"

"Of course we are…" Eve mumbled, smiling slightly. "But can I go back to bed?"

"What? No!" Adam yelled, causing Eve to flinch. "Come on! Go get cleaned up, and then we have to get Lagann ready for its debut!"

"You idiot…" Eve shuffled off, looking annoyed.

Adam grinned, turning back to Lagann.

"Well, Lagann, this is it. Everyone is going to see what we've got….Oh, I'm talking to machines again. Crap…"

**Meanwhile at New Teppelin…**

"Sire, Oblomov has returned."

"Very well. Send him in." Granze ordered, waving his hand lightly.

Ob slouched into the large room, yawning a bit.

"Yo, boss. I'm back."

"I can see that. How did you fare at attacking New Jiha?" Granze asked impatiently.

"Uh…" Ob hesitated. "About that…"

"…Well?" Granze looked annoyed, as he usually did when talking to Oblomov. "I've told you before, don't try my patience, you lowly worm."

"Fine, fine. The attack didn't happen. Eloth got damaged and I didn't bother."

"You fool!" Granze yelled. "What could have possibly happened to make you give up so easily?"

"Damn, boss. You're harshing my mellow…" Ob muttered. "I met up with two humans riding around in Lagann. We ended up fighting and they busted up Eloth's hand. I figured it would be better to come back here and tell you what I heard from them."

"Fool, you let them get away!" Granze yelled. "And what was so important that you cancelled an attack on New Jiha to come tell me?"

"Well, the kid driving Lagann, he wouldn't stop yelling all this crap about how great he was, and in there somewhere, he mentioned that he was going to recreate Dai-Gurren and call it Shin Dai-Gurren…"

"What? Shin Dai-Gurren?" Granze looked intrigued. "What else did he say?"

"Not much. I threw them towards New Jiha so I could retreat."

"Foolish scum! You should have listened to him! What if they're plotting some sort of uprising?" Granze yelled, causing Ob to roll his eyes. "Begone! I don't want to see your face!"

Ob shrugged and slouched back out of the room. Granze sat back and turned to the cloaked figure that was always mixed in with his guards.

"I want you to go to New Jiha. Do what you can to find out more about this 'Shin Dai-Gurren' and if you get the opportunity, eliminate them as quickly as you can. This can no longer be ignored."

"Yes, Sire." The cloaked figure bowed. "I will not fail you."

"I trust that you won't. After all, I can't expect failure from someone who has served under the great Lordgenome."

"Sire, remember my request. Those days aren't to be mentioned to me. I don't want to remember anything about my past."

"Yes. I understand. I apologize. Now, if you'll be on your way…"

The cloaked figure bowed, and despite the shadows of the cloak, a bit of light glinted off his extremely sharp teeth as he gave a sadistic smile.

CH. 10 END

Author's note: Ten chapters already…It seems like a long time since I started the fic, but it's only been about a week. And I've still got a long way to go. Anyway, as always, thanks for following along. It's been a joy and I intend to keep going.

-CK


	11. Come On! This Is A Battle, Right?

Chapter 11

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer roared over the cheering of a couple hundred people. "Today, in New Jiha's Ganmen arena, we have a new challenger! Will he be able to stand up to one of our local favorites?"

The audience responded with more cheering. Meanwhile, Adam drummed his fingers on Lagann's controls impatiently, awaiting the moment when the arena gates would open. Eve stood next to Lagann, doing a final check on its outside plating.

"C'mon, c'mon…" Adam muttered. "Let's get this show on the road…"

"Calm down, Adam." Eve said, examining Lagann's leg. "You need to get your head in the game, or you'll lose in a heartbeat."

"Alright, alright." Adam nodded. "Get in the game, get in the game…"

"And now, our new challenger!" The announcer's voice boomed. "Adam the Wanderer, piloting one half of the legendary Gurren Lagann!"

"Adam the Wanderer?" Adam wondered aloud.

"They thought it might be a good idea to tie you to a name like that. You know, like how Simon was known as Simon the Digger." Eve said without looking up from Lagann's legs.

"I see…" Adam nodded slowly. "Now, here I go."

The arena gates slowly swung open, and Adam eased Lagann into a jog, heading out into the dusty arena. The sunlight shone off Lagann's head, and Adam took a moment to take in the sounds of the crowd.

"And now, Lagann's opponent!" The announcer continued. "The shadow that stalks through the sand! Piloted by the stealthy mercenary Uten, Kagann!"

Lagann stepped lightly, ready to begin at any time, expecting the gate to open at any second. However, it didn't happen. Just when Adam was starting to grow impatient, a giant gust caused the sand on the arena floor to whirl around in a tornado. Lagann's vision was obscured, and when the sand finally cleared, a large, nimble looking Ganmen was standing in a battle-ready stance, holding an appropriately sized katana.

"An assassin must exist silently, and only to eliminate his target." A calm, collected voice, hard as stone, drifted from the Ganmen. "An assassin must abide by his code of honor, and act as efficiently as possible to hit his mark."

"Gee, let me guess. You're an assassin?"

A slightly harsh laugh came from the Ganmen.

"Of course. What gave it away?"

"Are you serious? You wouldn't stop mentioning stuff about assassins."

"A naïve one, are you?" Uten, the Ganmen's pilot laughed. "Well, such a small opponent will be difficult to hit, but I suppose if you're that airheaded, then it shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Airheaded! That's it! I'm gonna kick your ass!" Adam growled. "Ready to feel the pain?"

"You seem determined. How admirable."

"Damn right I'm determined! That's the way the leader of Team Shin Dai-Gurren should be, am I right?"

"Ha. Shin Dai-Gurren?" Uten sounded amused. "Clearly a pipe dream. You can't possibly expect to initiate such a grand scheme so easily. It's impossible."

"Impossible?" Adam asked. "IMPOSSIBLE? I don't know the meaning of the word impossible!"

"Well then, prove me wrong." Kagann took a battle stance.

"Prepare yourselves, combatants!" The announcer cut it. "FIGHT!"

Lagann immediately began sprinting around the arena. Kagann disappeared in a cloud of dust. Lagann skidded to a stop, Adam hurriedly glancing around to try and find where the larger Ganmen had disappeared to. Within seconds, Kagann reappeared and batted Lagann into one of the arena walls with its katana.

"D-Dammit!" Adam released one of Lagann's drill arms into the wall, latching it to the surface. He then gave Lagann's leg controls a right swing, causing the little machine to kick off the wall and launching it into the air, soaring over Kagann's head.

"Alright…Combine!" Adam shouted, releasing Lagann's bottom drill and sending it straight down at Kagann's top.

"Nice try, but a predictable strategy!" Uten laughed, and swatted Lagann out of the way with Kagann's hand. "Lagann thrives on combining with other Ganmen, so I foresaw this move from the start!"

"Adam, come on…" Eve muttered from the area behind the gate. "This guy knows what he's doing. I hope you do too…"

Lagann flew across the arena, slamming into the ground and rolling into one of the walls. After a moment of disorientation, Adam flipped Lagann back over onto its feet, and then began sprinting again.

"All of this running around is getting on my nerves." Uten calmly said, before disappearing again.

"He's getting on MY nerves with this disappearing act…" Adam muttered, bringing Lagann up to a full-speed run. "Now, where did you go?"

Suddenly, Kagann reappeared in a whirl of sand directly behind Lagann, and then began to give chase, making precise swings with its katana at the ground beneath Lagann's feet. Adam shoved Lagann's controls erratically left and right, forcing the little Ganmen into a zigzag pattern.

"Hold still, and I'll end it quick." Uten said, with just an ounce of irritation in his voice as he swung Kagann's katana again and again. "I SAID hold still."

"Like hell!" Adam shouted, continuing to zigzag.

"Dammit! STOP MOVING SO UNPREDICTABLY!" Uten snapped, sounding greatly irritated.

"I can't believe this." Eve muttered as she watched the spectacle. "Leave it to Adam to accidentally figure out Uten's Achilles Heel…Uten's entire strategy seems to revolve around analyzing his opponent's moves. When Adam starts panicking and acting unpredictably, Uten can't even hope to be able to hit him, because he can't tell where Adam is going if Adam himself can't…"

Adam continued to burn around the arena, beginning to use an abnormal amount of spiral energy, causing Lagann's eyes to burn a bright green, leaving a trail behind it as it kept running faster and faster.

"D-Damn you!" Uten yelled. "You're…I'm…My spiral energy is too low!"

Kagann was definitely slowing down, and everyone in the audience could see it. The sword strikes were becoming less and less frequent, and when they did happen, they came down at a much slower pace. While Lagann was getting faster and faster, Kagann was getting slower.

"Alright, now's my chance to finish it!" Adam said to himself, retracting Lagann's arms and legs and forcing it into a roll, turning it into a high speed pinball. "Time to put all that built up spiral energy to good use!"

He gave a mighty yell, his hands glowing bright green as he shoved the controls forward, attempting a high-speed rolling attack. Much to his surprise, on top of the massive amount of speed he built up, a dozen or so spinning drills suddenly popped out of Lagann, on all sides, effectively turning it into a kinetic ball of death.

"This is how we do it in Shin Dai-Gurren!" Adam shouted. "GO, LAGAAAANN!"

With another mighty shove of the controls, he rolled the spiky ball-shaped Lagann off the wall 180 degrees and shot straight back towards Kagann. Lagann caught a bit of debris from one of Kagann's prior attacks, causing it to launch straight up towards Kagann's large face.

Uten lifted Kagann's katana to block the incoming deadly ball, but the blade was instantly shattered upon impact, Lagann tearing straight through and crashing into the Ganmen's face, digging through steadily. As the dangerously sharp drills bore closer to the cockpit, Uten had no choice but to crawl through the small opening left by the impact and escape, or else face death. As soon as his feet touched the ground he started running.

Lagann's kinetic force eventually slowed down and ceased. The drills retracted and the arms and legs popped out again. After a moment, the small red mecha climbed out of the now hollowed out Kagann, and hopped to the ground as the wrecked Ganmen behind it collapsed in a heap.

Adam grinned, breathing heavily. Using so much spiral energy had worn him out, like a long marathon. He wouldn't be able to do anything else aside from moving Lagann slowly for now, although it didn't matter. He had won the round.

Uten turned around to face Lagann and the destroyed Kagann. Lagann's top opened, and Adam hopped out.

"Good game, brother!" He said, happily. "I haven't had that much fun in quite awhile. Sorry about your Ganmen."

"I'm…impressed. You think with your heart, not with your head. Not like most opponents I've faced."

"Really?" Adam looked surprised. "I thought everyone was supposed to do what their hearts told them. That's why I'm here right now."

"Your heart told you to join the arena battles?"

"No, I mean, if I hadn't followed my heart, I wouldn't have started piloting Lagann in the first place, and I'd still be wandering around in the desert."

"Ha." Uten smiled slightly. "Well, now. I think you've shown me that this Shin Dai-Gurren idea might work. At the very least, with you leading the charge, you might have a fighting chance."

"Thanks. It means a lot to know that one more person is behind me."

"Heh." Uten shook his head. "You're really something, kid. By the way, Uten is just an alias. I wouldn't go around with such a silly name for real. My name is Kane."

"Kane, huh? And why are you telling me that?" Adam looked confused. "It's not like we'll speak again."

"I've never told anyone my real name. But if we're going to be travelling together, you deserve to know." Kane gave Adam a slight grin. "After all, your little Shin Dai-Gurren has only got two members, right? You and that silver-haired girl."

"Right…Wait, you're joining?" Adam did a double-take.

"Yeah, I am. I've got my own reasons for wanting to take on the New Beastman Army. Changing the world is just an added incentive. And if I'm in a group, it'll be that much easier, right?"

"Right. Welcome to the team, Kane."

"You'd better not act like a weakling, Adam. I don't like spineless leaders."

"Don't worry about that. There's no way in hell I'm going to let you down." Adam grinned, giving Kane a thumbs up.

"Hmph, I should hope not." Kane looked away, trying to look aloof, but had trouble hiding the small smile on his face.

"It looks like Lagann is the clear winner of this round!" The announcer had been droning on for a while without Adam or Kane noticing. "And it appears that Adam the Wanderer and Uten the Mercenary have shown good sportsmanship! Adam will be receiving the prize today, let's give him a big hand!"

Uproarious applause followed this statement. The audience had greatly enjoyed the show Adam had put on for them, and they were showing it. Adam grinned brightly when he heard the applause, raising a fist in the air.

"Hell yeah! This victory is in the name of Team Shin Dai-Gurren!"

"Hmph, big blowhard." Kane smirked, crossing his arms as he walked towards the opened arena gates. "I'll go tell the girl that I'm joining the team."

Adam nodded and took in the applause for a while longer before bowing and hopping back in Lagann and trotting off towards the opened arena gate. Eve and Kane were there waiting for him.

"I can't believe your dumb luck." Eve said. "Not only do you win the fight, but you recruit Shin Dai-Gurren's first member, and he offers to pay off our debt too."

"I'm not about to sit around and wait for Mr. Leader here earn enough money to pay off a debt. It'll be faster if I just pay it off and we get out of here as quickly as we can."

"That's AWESOME! Thank you, Kane!" Adam exclaimed.

"Be quiet. I'm not doing it for you." Kane shrugged. "I'm doing it because I don't like wasting time."

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a deafening crash. A cloud of dust formed in the arena, and bits of debris fell from the air they had been sent into. Eventually a big white Ganmen with four arms stood up as the dust cleared.

"A Ganmen!" Eve exclaimed. "Adam, get ready!"

"Dammit, I can't! I used up nearly all of my spiral energy finishing off Kane!"

"An assassin must always be prepared." Kane said in a low voice.

"Shut up, you! Now's not the time!" Adam snapped. "Right now we gotta focus on how we're gonna beat that thing!"

"I know the leader of this so-called Shin Dai-Gurren is here!" The white Ganmen called. "I want him to step forward!"

Adam hopped into Lagann, disregarding his own statement about spiral energy before, and walking out to face the giant white behemoth.

"So, the rumors I heard were true, hmm?" The voice, a low raspy one, said from the Ganmen. "Looks like Lagann really was found, hmm? And you're the human runt who found it, I assume."

"Damn right…Wait, I'm not a runt, you bastard!" Adam said, standing up in Lagann. "Who the hell do you think I am!"

"Heh…" The voice said. "There's a phrase I haven't heard in a long time. Brings a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I'm going to vomit."

"Dammit, why are you here? Did Granze send you?" Adam demanded.

"That's right, human." The voice responded. "I was sent to find and eliminate the leader of Shin Dai-Gurren before it got out of hand. Looks like my job will be quite easy as well. You seem to be severely lacking in spiral energy."

"You're just going to kill me without a fight, huh?" Adam smirked. "I didn't know beastmen were such cowards!"

"Be quiet. If you're so insistent that I do things the hard way, then I'll get out of my Ganmen and kill you with my own blade. Would that make you happy, you hairless pig?"

"Hell yeah, bring it on!" Adam shook his fists. "A swordfight? Sounds pretty badass! Let's go, beastman!"

"Idiot! You don't have a sword!" Kane called.

Adam froze, and then slowly turned around.

"…You have one, don't you?"

"Yeah…."

"Please let me borrow it, Kane!" Adam bowed quickly.

"Fine." Kane smirked. "Catch."

And with that, he tossed his sheathed katana at Adam. Adam stuck an arm out and the blade hit it, spinning around his arm a few times before he caught the handle and unsheathed it.

"Alright, beastman." He turned back to the waiting Ganmen. "Show me some of that ferocity that you people are supposed to have."

"You're an amusing one, human. You remind me of a guy I knew, a long time ago. He was an arrogant bastard just like you."

The cloaked figure rose out of the top of the Ganmen, twirling a one-handed cleaver-like blade in his fingers. After a moment he removed his cloak and gave a nasty, sadistic grin to Adam. The wind rustled his blonde hair slightly, and his pale gold eyes watched the human carefully.

"Do you have a name, human?"

"Adam, leader of Shin Dai-Gurren." Adam responded calmly. "And you?"

"I am Viral, second-in-command to General Granze of the New Beastman Army. Now, prepare to die, Adam." And with that, Viral leapt from the Ganmen, his blade raised and ready to strike from above.

CH. 11 END

Author's Note: And so, by popular demand, Viral makes his appearance in the story! I had wanted to incorporate everyone's favourite beastman into the story right from the beginning, but I wanted to do it at just the right time, along with building up to it. Rest assured, this isn't a one-off appearance either. I'll leave it at that. Anyway, some minor drabble about the names chosen for this chapter. Kane is a respelling of Cain, another biblical name in the vein of Adam and Eve, and Kagann is a combination of Kage (Japanese for shadow) and Gan, although admittedly, it sounds similar to Lagann, which is why Kagann was destroyed violently with no hope of return. Thanks for reading, as always.

-CK


	12. You Can't Just Lie There And Give Up!

Chapter 12

Viral leapt from his Ganmen, his blade in the air, poised to make the first strike. Adam lifted his blade in a split-second, blocking Viral's downward slash a moment before the thick blade split him in two.

"Heh…" Viral smiled nastily, sweeping his leg and tripping Adam. "This fight won't last long, human. You know that, right?"

"D-Damn!" Adam fell onto his back, raising his blade again to block another swing from Viral's blade. "I should've figured a beastman would use dirty tricks!"

Viral began striking at Adam's blocking blade, attempting to shatter it to get to the fleshy target behind it. Kane, who was watching along with Eve next to Lagann, started to look more and more irritated with each strike.

"Adam, if you let that blade get broken, I'll make you suffer!" He shouted. "That sword is worth a ton of money!"

"Greedy bastard…" Adam muttered as he readied himself to retaliate. "He acts like an honourable gentleman, but as soon as money's involved, he's no better than Eve…"

After a couple more seconds, during which Viral managed to hit the blade a full three more times, Adam swung a foot up, kicking Viral in the face and causing him to stagger. In the same moment, Adam planted his blade firmly in the ground and used it as a crutch to swing up onto his feet.

As soon as his feet were firmly planted on the ground, Adam yanked the blade out of the ground and swung it at Viral's head. Viral tilted his face away from the sword, but a small cut appeared just below his left eye and started bleeding slowly.

"Well, you cut me, human." Viral growled, continuing his assault. "Too bad you're going to get gutted like a fish."

Adam ignored Viral's constant biting comments, instead focusing on blocking his increasingly fierce blows. He was definitely a dangerous opponent, Adam couldn't deny it, and was making a conscious effort to be careful how he read Viral's moves.

Viral relentlessly swung his blade at Adam, trying to get a deep cut in at whatever vital points he could reach. Adam continued to slip out of the way of each of Viral's strikes, despite the fact that Viral was clearly starting to wear him down.

Eve and Kane watched the fight from afar, following every swing of the blades with their eyes. Neither Adam nor Viral looked like they were planning on yielding, until the first major blow of the battle could be seen.

It happened after a few more tedious minutes of blocking and parrying. Adam miscalculated his reach and swung for Viral's shoulder, just missing his mark and leaving himself wide open. The sadistic beastman saw his opportunity and struck, digging his blade deep into Adam's side and sending him crashing into the ground.

Adam tried to yell in pain, but no sound came out. Eve and Kane tried to call out to him, but he was deaf to everything except his heartbeat, and a subtle squishing noise as his blood spilt onto the dusty arena floor.

"Looks like I win, human." Viral gloated, raising his killing tool to deal the final blow. Adam couldn't hear him either.

"I-Is this it?"

"Am I going to die here? A-Already?"

"My side is soaked in something…smells like my…blood…"

"Wh-why the hell did I try…to take on a…"

Adam felt a number of dull jabs of pain all over his chest and sides. It seemed that Viral wasn't done attempting to make him suffer. He was swinging his blade into Adam's bare chest over and over, leaving cut after cut, gash after gash. Adam couldn't feel most of the pain though. He was far too out of it from blood loss.

"Die!" Viral shouted again and again, swinging his blade into Adam's flesh over and over. "Die, you human filth!"

The pain got more and more subdued as Adam's wounds worsened. Viral was working himself into a fever, hacking away at Adam's helpless body. Eve was practically in tears, and Kane was holding her back as she tried to run over. Adam coughed. His throat was on fire and he could feel blood bubbling up in his mouth. The whole scenario was too much to bear, and he shut his eyes, wishing he could just pretend it wasn't happening.

He was dying…right? He couldn't be sure. He didn't know what it was like to actually die. He had hoped that when he died, he'd feel a warm sensation, and when he looked up, his mother and father would be there, hands held out to lead him into the afterlife. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be him lying on the ground, getting eviscerated by an opponent with no regard for his pain.

"Yo, Adam!" A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. "You just gonna let this guy cut you into bits?"

Adam opened his eyes slightly, and amidst the haze, he could see two figures standing over him. One was Viral, who had now curiously stopped with his bloodied blade raised high in the air, frozen in time. The other was that peculiar man he had met at the graveyard on the day of the fight with Arache. He had forgotten about that experience right up till this moment, and now he remembered. This man had given him some valuable advice to live by that day.

"K-K…Ka…" He tried to speak.

The man tilted his sunglasses slightly and grinned.

"Do you plan on lying there and dying? Or are you gonna get up and fight like a man?" He asked.

"I can't…I can't move…It hurts too much." Adam managed to say.

"SHUT UP! This isn't the Adam that believes in himself!" The man crossed his arms. "What happened to your Dai-Gurren spirit? Or is all your hope for the future gone?"

"N…N…"

"What's that? I can't hear you!" The man leaned over with a hand cupped to his ear dramatically. "What are you gonna do? Roll over and die, or stand up and fight?"

"I'm…." Adam struggled, rolling onto his side and planting a hand shakily on the ground.

"Yeah? You're…?"

"I'm…gonna kick this guy's ass!" Adam choked out, scrabbling for his blade and using it as a crutch to attempt to stand. "Who…Who the hell do you think I am! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?"

"I thought so." The man grinned brilliantly, tilting his glasses again. "If that's it, then I'll be on my way. Got places to be, y'know."

He turned, beginning to walk away.

"Wait! W-Wait!" Adam called, still trying to steady himself.

"Hey. I gave you my name, right?" The man stopped and asked. "Did you forget it?"

"N-No. I remember it…But this is the second time I've met you and I still don't know why you keep appearing when I'm in trouble…"

"Well, to be honest, the first time was kind of by accident. But this time I saw you getting your ass kicked and decided, hey, this kid seems to get into all kinds of damn trouble. Don't worry, kid. You're clearly destined for greatness, nearly of my level.

"O-Of your level…?"

"But in the meantime, you're gonna have a lot of falls and beatdowns. The road to the heavens isn't easy, y'know? But don't worry. When you need me, I'll be around."

"Right…Kamina."

"Heh." The man smirked. "Glad to see my greatness inspires you to remember my name. Now, I'm outta here. Make sure you beat this guy, alright? A hero's story should never end with a senseless sacrifice."

The man walked out of the open arena gate, ignored by all and was gone. Adam then opened his eyes for real, just in time to see Viral's blade swinging down towards him at high speed again. Adam, now seeing the world in stunning clarity, grabbed his blade with a speed that no man who sustained the injuries he did would normally have.

"I'm done playing around with you!" Viral yelled. "It's time I ended it!"

The blade reached Adam's face, and stopped. Adam had blocked the blow with his blade, and was pushing it back slowly.

"You beastmen…" He grunted. "You guys are something else. Toying with your victims before you kill them? Makes me sick."

"H-How did you-" Viral looked shocked.

"You know, now I'm even more motivated." Adam continued, pushing Viral's blade back towards him even further. "I'm even more motivated to hunt down your leader and kick his ass, Shin Dai-Gurren style!"

"There's no way…!" Viral muttered. "You shouldn't be able to move, let alone block my attacks!"

Adam's grip on his blade tightened.

"Beastman…Viral, right? I'm gonna beat the hell out of you, but first I want you to answer me one question."

"…?" Viral looked uneasy.

"WHO?" Adam kicked Viral's blade out of his hand and dropped his own, lurching up into a solid punch, right in Viral's face.

"THE HELL?" Another punch, Viral starts bleeding.

"DO YOU THINK?" A third. Now he's got a black eye.

"I…." A loud clang. Adam has shoved Viral against his Ganmen.

"AM?" Another solid punch, knocking Viral to the ground.

Adam turned and picked up Kane's blade. Viral used his Ganmen to help him stand, blood seeping from both the cut on his face and his mouth. He clearly couldn't beat Adam when he was in this half-delirious state.

"Don't think I'll forget this, human!" Viral shouted. "Next time, I'm going to make sure I kill you! Revolutionary scum!"

And with that, the defeated beastman climbed back into his Ganmen, and leapt out of the arena, the jets on its back sending it flying upward and out of sight in the deep blue sky.

Adam grinned weakly. He had really done a number on himself this time. All at once, he could feel all of the wounds Viral gave him suddenly become agonizingly painful. He could hear Eve and Kane running over to him, but before they could reach him, he fell over again, and everything went dark.

CH. 12 END

Author's Note: A shorter chapter this time around, but I really just wanted to do the Adam Vs. Viral fight over the course of one chapter, and not start any new story elements this time around. Next chapter we get back to the plot. Stay tuned!

-CK


	13. What? Not YOU Again!

(Guess who's making a comeback? Hey guys, I'm VERY much aware of the gap in updates and I apologize. I had finals, then summer classes, then personal family issues, and then trouble finding motivation to continue. Anyway, I've got my writing mojo back and I'm intending on getting back into regular updates, hopefully at the same rate as before. Without further ado, here's chapter 13 of TTGL: Return To The Heavens! – CK)

Chapter 13

It had been two weeks since Adam's battle with Viral. Adam had spent the entirety of those two weeks in bed, wrapped up in bandages. Eve and Kane had very patiently put up with Adam's constant whining and complaining about being unable to go anywhere. But today was the end of it. Adam's wounds had healed and it was time to take the bandages off.

"Oww! Eve, stop tearing at them! You're taking off bandages, not ripping open a package!" Adam snapped as Eve pulled another couple bandages off his stomach.

Eve said nothing, choosing to instead start pulling at the bandages even harder.

"OWW! Alright, alright! I'll stop complaining!" Adam yelped.

"And to think this whiny kid is the same guy who took on that beastman." Kane muttered.

Once the bandages were off, Adam leapt out of bed, looking eager.

"You idiot! Don't jump around like that!" Eve scolded him. "You'll reopen your wounds, you-"

She stopped midsentence as her eyes passed over the large scar running down Adam's bare chest. For any normal man, the gash that Viral had given Adam at the end of their fight would have been fatal. Somehow Adam had not only survived the wound, he had won the fight in spite of it.

"…What are you staring at?"

"N-Nothing! Nothing at all!" Eve stammered, averting her eyes.

"She was staring at your chest, Adam." Kane unceremoniously piped up. "Or perhaps…admiring it?"

"Shut the hell up!" Eve snapped at him. "Why would I ever do something so…so…ADAM! GET THAT STUPID SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE!"

Adam laughed, and immediately regretted it, as Eve slapped him.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

Less than an hour later, Team Shin Dai-Gurren had departed from New Jiha. Adam had insisted that they leave as soon as possible, to make up for the two weeks of lost time.

"Hey, I wonder why no beastmen came looking for us over the last couple weeks." Adam wondered aloud, breaking the silence.

"Perhaps General Granze thinks Viral succeeded in killing you." Kane mused.

"Don't be foolish." Eve responded. "Viral would have brought Lagann back with him if he had succeeded. They're probably still planning their next move."

"Hmm, if that's the case, we should be at the ready." Adam said, sounding determined. "No matter what, we're going to win."

"In that case, we should probably decide where we're heading next."

"We gotta keep searching for Gurren!" Adam said with no hesitation. "The longer we take to find it, the more we run a risk of the enemy finding it first."

"That sounds reasonable." Kane nodded. "Not that it matters to me where we go. As long as the New Beastman Army meets its end at some point, I'm willing to go wherever the wind takes us."

"You sure about that, bro?" Another voice drawled, seemingly from nowhere.

"Huh? Where the hell's that voice coming from?" Adam turned Lagann in a circle looking for the source.

Suddenly a familiar looking Ganmen appeared in front of Lagann, quite literally out of nowhere. Its long lanky arms picked the tiny machine up and lifted it up to look at it eye-to eye.

"Hello, little humans!" The lazy voice called from inside the Ganmen. "Betcha can't guess who I am!"

"…You're that Ob guy." Adam responded in a deadpan fashion.

"W-WHAT? You remembered me!" The voice sounded both surprised and pleased.

"It's pretty hard to forget a weirdo like you, buddy."

"I assume you've met this beastman before?" Kane looked the Ganmen over. "Hm, long arms. Slow but easy to hit with."

Kane began muttering the various facets of the Ganmen to himself.

"Anyway, little man. It's been a while since we last talked. Listen, the boss man is getting real impatient, so I figured I would just stop by and pick up Lagann for him. Is that alright with you?"

"Hell no!"

"Ooh, so rude. Manners are important, y'know."

"Not this crap again…You tried to give me a speech about manners LAST TIME!" Adam groaned.

"Adam, be ready." Eve murmured. "He appeared out of nowhere. He must have some kind of cloaking device installed on his ganmen."

"Bingo! Tell the lucky lady what she's won!" Ob shouted. "Fine! If you're going to be all rude like that, I'm not going to play nice like I did last time!"

"You mean to tell me you let us win last time? Cuz, you know, it seemed like you kind of just suck at piloting a Ganmen."

"Quiet, you! Our fight starts…Right now! Let's get 'im, Eloth!"

Ob's big, lanky Ganmen swung its long arm down, slamming Lagann into the ground.

"Dammit!" Adam snapped Lagann back onto its feet, only to find that Eloth had disappeared again.

Suddenly a dark shadow appeared over Lagann.

"Adam! He's attacking from the air! He's going to body-slam Lagann!"

"Wrong-o!" Ob called.

Eloth reappeared in the sky, its arms opening up to reveal over a dozen individual missile launchers, all primed to fire a full salvo right at Lagann.

Adam turned slightly pale.

"Oh….CRAP."

CH. 13 END

Author's note: And with that, TTGL: Return To The Heavens is back on track, and of course, I had to leave Adam, Eve and Kane in a tight spot! Curse me! Anyway, now that summer is here, I'll have time for frequent updates, so stay tuned. And once again, I'm really sorry about the long delay. I feel guilty.


	14. Here, Let Me Take Over!

Chapter 14

"Oh…CRAP."

The barrage of missiles fired from Eloth was barrelling down towards Lagann like a swarm of deadly, explosive locusts.

"Adam! Do something! NOW!"

Eve was screaming at Adam, but he wasn't really registering what she was saying. Kane was being silent, perhaps attempting to formulate a plan of action. Adam's mind was blank. He had never seen a Ganmen capable of firing missiles before, and he didn't know what to do.

"ADAM!"

"I…I can't think of anything!"

"Don't think." Kane finally spoke. "Just act. You seem to be good at that sort of thing, right?"

"Just…act? Well, alright…AAAAHHH!"

Adam started screaming and engaged Lagann's arm drills then leapt off the ground, barrelling up towards one of the missiles.

"A-Adam? What are you doing?" Eve looked uncharacteristically terrified.

"I have NO idea! I panicked!"

"You idiot!"

"Relax. Adam, move over and let me handle this." Kane, still calm as ever, shoved Adam aside in the already cramped cockpit and pushed him to the back, then took the controls.

"Makin' it easier for me, eh?" Ob called from nowhere. Eloth had cloaked again.

Kane ignored his taunts and shoved the controls at an upward angle, causing Lagann to jump a bit higher in midair, and then land on top of the oncoming missile. Kane treaded lightly, sending Lagann dashing across the missile and then leapt to another one, and then another.

"This is how an assassin pilots a Ganmen." He murmured.

"Uh, Kane? This is cool and all, but we're running out of missiles to run on!" Adam pointed out, gesturing to the three spiralling missiles above them.

"Not a problem." Kane answered abruptly.

"Well, what are we going to do when we run out of ground to run on?"

"You'll see."

"DON'T BE SO VAGUE!"

"Adam." Eve piped up. "Shut up and let him do what he needs to."

"You…fine." Adam sat back, looking uneasy.

"Now where are you hiding?" Kane muttered, sounding as though he was in his own little world.

"You aren't gonna find me, bro." Ob called. "And even if you do, I can just disappear again!"

"Hmm…Is that so?"

The first batch of missiles crashed into the ground, making a deafening explosion. A slight yelp could be heard when they hit.

"Aha. You idiot, you gave yourself away. You can't move very quickly in that big lanky Ganmen of yours, so you must be on the ground, near where those missiles just hit."

"T-That's irrelevant!" Ob stammered. "Even if you know my general location, that can't help you find my exact spot!"

"Oh, I didn't think it would." Kane retorted. "Now, let's see how strong of a kick these stubby little legs have."

Despite his calm demeanour, Kane was getting fired up, and Lagann's dash was beginning to glow bright green. Without another word, Kane directed Lagann up to the back of the last missile, leapt off of it, and swung Lagann's tiny leg into the back of it. Due to the large amount of spiral energy Kane was giving off, the kick sent the missile careening towards the ground at double the speed.

As an added bonus, the sharp fins on the sides of the missile hooked into the ones in front of it as it passed them, dragging them along at the same high speed. The combined force of three high-speed missiles made an enormous blast when they collided with the ground.

"Did we get him?" Adam wondered aloud.

"Wait for it…" Kane landed Lagann on the ground lightly, awaiting the inevitable.

"Ugggh…You bastards…" Ob's voice groaned and Eloth flickered back into sight as it lost its invisibility. "You trashed my poor Eloth…"

The Ganmen was staggering, and it had clearly been caught in the blast. It was completely missing its right arm and its right leg was in visibly rough shape.

"Damn, looks like I can't hold out much longer. I'd better retreat…" Ob said, more to himself than to his opponents.

"Like hell you will! Move over, Kane!" Adam shoved Kane back aside and took the controls, sending Lagann into a full sprint towards the towering Ganmen before it.

With a mighty shove, Adam sent Lagann tearing towards Eloth faster and faster, extending its arm drills and raising them above its head.

"Let it be known to you, to us, and to the world! The human race isn't going to take the New Beastman Army's crap anymore! We're going to show your boss that the human spirit prevails no matter what! We're going to show him the TEAM SHIN DAI-GURREN WAY!"

"W-What the hell are you babbling about…?" Ob sounded noticeably shaken as Lagann barrelled towards his Ganmen, drills ready to strike the finishing blow.

"We're going all the way, buddy! We're going to take back what you've taken from us! You beastmen terrorize the land, attacking defenceless humans, not even thinking about how horrible your actions are! We're going to show you that we're tired of the way things are! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE!"

Adam's hot-blooded speech was causing his spiral energy to reach its peak, which in turn was bringing Lagann's speed into the triple digits. The little red blur tore towards Eloth, leapt at its weak leg and tore through it like wet paper. Unable to support its own weight with one leg, Eloth toppled to the ground. Lagann scrambled on top of the once-mighty machine and began to drill at the center of the face.

"Ah! AHH!" Ob was beginning to panic, speaking at a quick pace as opposed to his usual lazy drawl. "Stop! Stopstopstopstop! PLEASE!"

As soon as the drill hit the cockpit, Adam backed Lagann away from the gaping hole and hopped out.

"Adam, what are you doing? We've got him!"

"Just wait, guys. I'll be right back." Adam waved as he hopped down into the gaping hole in Eloth's cockpit, kicking at Ob as he did. He then grabbed Ob's collar and dragged him up and out to the open desert air.

"What's up, 'bro'?" Adam asked sardonically. "Let's talk."

"W-What are you going to do to me? K-Kill me? G-g-go ahead! I'm not afraid of death!"

"Shut your face. I'm not going to kill you." Adam pinned Ob against Eloth as he spoke. "I want you to do me a favour."

"A f-favor? What's that, bro…?"

"Call me bro one more damn time, and I'll…" Adam growled, but quickly regained his composure. "I want you to go back to your boss, General Granze. I want you to tell him that I ain't dead and I'm coming for him. Oh, and I won't be coming alone, get me?"

"Uhh, y-yeah. I got it. H-h-hypothetically, what if I refuse?"

"Oh, I promised I wouldn't kill you, but I can't say the same for my crew inside Lagann there. Especially the one who threw the missiles at you."

"Er…Is that right? I'll make sure to let the boss man know, then…"

"You're such a wimp. It's a shame you're working for the bad guys, otherwise I'd draft you into Shin Dai-Gurren and make you man up. Now get the hell outta my sight."

Adam finished his orders and tossed the fallen beastman off Eloth. The tall, thin beastman immediately started running, not even looking back once.

"You really have a way with people, don't you?" Eve appeared at Adam's side, looking somewhat pleased. "You really are an idiot..."

"Aww, shut up." Adam muttered. "I don't need to hear that from a little boy like you."

"I AM NOT A BOY!" Eve gave Adam a swift kick in the shin, causing him to yell in pain.

"Jeez, is this how you two always act after a battle?" Kane climbed out of Lagann, sounding amused. "What a pair. Let me know when you plan on tying the knot…"

"Kane, shut the hell up…" Adam said. "Or else she'll-"

Crack. A fist immediately flew into Adam's cheek, sending him sprawling.

"Say it again. I DARE YOU." Eve growled, with all the ferocity of Hell's most vicious demons.

"Oww…" Adam sat up, rubbing his reddened cheek. "Don't say it again…I don't want to find out what she might do…"

"Just like an old married couple." Kane bluntly said with absolutely no reservations.

"K-Kane, you asshole!" Adam immediately stood up and began running. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Adam…" Eve snarled. "Get back here. I want to have a word with you."

"Why me? He's the one saying all this crap!"

"You're going to regret putting those thoughts in his head!"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

Kane laughed, amused by the destructive force he had just unleashed upon poor Adam. Eve began to chase Adam across the sands, stopping only to turn and ask Kane if she could borrow his blade, which made Adam run even faster.

**Meanwhile, at New Teppelin…**

"Well, well, well. Look at this pitiful animal crawling before me." General Granze smirked cruelly.

"I am truly sorry, Sir." Viral bowed before his commander. His face had healed somewhat, but it was still easy to see the beatdown he had received from the humans.

"Sorry, you say? You're a pathetic excuse for a beastman, letting a human beat you, and with its bare hands, hmm? I should cut your head off and hang it on the door for all to see. It'd be a valuable lesson about shameful failures."

"Yes, sir. It's more than I deserve." Viral continued to bow, clearly ashamed of himself. "But, sir, if I may…"

"If you may…WHAT?" General Granze growled. "I hardly think you're in any position to be asking me for anything except the right to lick my boot."

"I want another chance. I want to kill that human…no, I want to make him suffer for what he did to me."

"Oh hoh, so that's what you had in mind. Are you really willing to go this far for vengeance? You do know that no matter what you do, it won't bring…them back, correct?"

"Yes, sir. I understand that…This isn't about…them. Frankly, I'd rather forget about that part of my life. It's over now and I've moved on."

"Frankly, I find that hard to believe." General Granze retorted. "The photographs in your quarters seem to contradict what you're saying to me now."

"Sir…"

"Go, get out of my sight. Perhaps if you succeed in killing the human, my opinion of your abilities may be redeemed. Oh, and you remember my original objective, correct? Bring me Lagann as well."

"Of course, sir." Viral stood before the intimidating figure and turned to leave.

"Like I said, revenge won't bring them back…although it may help to fill the void in your soul they left behind." General Granze murmured.

"The void they left behind…yes, of course. I will not fail you." Viral remained still for but a moment, and then left the dark throne room.


	15. Oh Crap, Where'd Everyone Go?

Chapter 15

"You know, a long time ago, I would have never thought I'd be on a big adventure like this." Adam broke the silence with an innocent thought.

"You say it like it's a good thing." Eve rolled her eyes. "This isn't a group vacation. Have you forgotten what our goal is?"

"No need to be so harsh, Eve." Kane interjected. "I think I understand what Adam means. There is something…fun about travelling like this."

"I thought you travelled all the time, Kane. Being a mercenary and all…"

"Oh no, I mostly stayed in New Jiha. There was always work that didn't require any travel on my part."

Adam yawned. The three intrepid travellers had been on the road for days, having mapped out the city of Apara as their next destination. Apara was well-known by the majority of the land as the biggest pit of sin and vice found anywhere.

"Then why the hell are we going there?" Adam had demanded, sounding appalled that a place like that even existed.

"Because it's big." Eve had flatly responded. "There are a lot of people, and we need a few more people to fill roles in Team Shin Dai-Gurren. Namely, we need a mechanic."

"I'm a good mechanic!" Adam sounded annoyed.

"Lies. I've seen the way you 'maintain' Lagann. Kicking it and yelling at it isn't a valid repair method."

"Why, you…"

"Plus, we didn't find your brother in New Jiha. Apara is the next biggest settlement around, so it seems likely that he'd be there."

"M-My bro would never…!"

"Oh, would you grow up? If he's anything like you, he has a weakness for good food and easy women."

"E-Easy women? When have I ever-"

"We're going to Apara, and I don't care if we have to tie you to the back of Lagann to do so." Eve had put her foot down with an air of authority. "Kane agrees with me, don't you, Kane?"

"Of course, Miss Eve. I will follow you to the ends of the earth. Especially if there's cheap booze to be found there."

The conversation had ended there, and travel had commenced the next morning, continuing for days. This morning, Eve had stated that they had nearly reached their destination, much to Adam's chagrin.

The sun was sinking to the west as Lagann slowed to a stop. Adam climbed out for fresh air and yawned again.

"Adam, can you see Apara yet?"

"Hn? Let's see...I think so. I can see the outline of the city, but why's it glowing like that?"

"One of the reasons Apara is so popular is all of the glitzy lights. There's a lot of dazzling signs and things like that all over the city."

"That…sounds kinda cool, actually." Adam muttered.

"Warming up to the idea of the place, Adam?" Kane asked, sounding amused.

"N-NO! I'm just…Shut your mouth!"

"You're like a child." Eve laughed. "Amused by shiny lights and things. Do you enjoy eating candy as well?"

"Be quiet! The only child here is you!"

"I'm not a child, you're a child!"

"That's exactly what a child would say!"

"You two are both acting like children, if you ask me…" Kane muttered.

"NOBODY ASKED YOU!" Adam and Eve snapped at him simultaneously.

"Ooh, touchy. Anyway, you two work out your…couple issues, and I'll pilot Lagann the rest of the way, hm?"

"C-couple issues…Kane, you asshole!" Adam yelled and immediately keeled over as Eve punched him in the stomach.

"I'm only teasing." Kane jumped back into Lagann's cockpit without looking back.

"O-ow…It's not funny, you jerk…" Adam crawled back into the back of the cockpit, clutching his gut in pain. Eve hopped down into the seat next to Kane gracefully, cracking her knuckles.

After another hour of very quiet travel, during which Adam hadn't dared say anything to set Eve's temper off or put ideas in Kane's head, Lagann finally tromped through Apara's gates.

"Whoa, is this really what the entire city looks like?" Adam completely forgot about his initial dislike of the city when he saw the beautifully lit streets. Bright signs hung everywhere, advertising all sorts of local businesses, but the most prominent advertisements seemed to all be for a place called the Silver Spiral.

"Silver Spiral…what's that?" Adam asked Eve.

"It's a casino."

"Ca…si…no?" Adam sounded out the syllables, sounding like a fool.

"You're so naïve. A casino is a place where people bet money on different games. If they win, they get even more money back. The Silver Spiral is the largest business in the city, so of course they would get the most attention."

"Sounds like a waste of money…" Adam muttered.

"The gambling might be a waste of money, but the booze sure isn't." Kane smirked. "I say we head there first."

"We may as well." Eve shrugged. "We don't know the rest of the city, so it would probably be best to start there. Maybe we can even find a place to stay."

"I don't like the sound of any of this…" Adam groaned, but nobody was listening.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"This place is really crowded, and it smells bad." Adam complained.

"Quit your eternal whining, you moron. You want to get us thrown out?" Eve glared at him. "Wait, where did Kane go?"

"As soon as we came in, he slipped off. Probably to go drink."

"Figures…Anyway, don't wander off, Adam. This place is dangerous."

"Dangerous, huh? Like how?"

"New Beastmen Army members often come to Apara when they're on leave. You think they'd turn down the handsome reward they'd get for catching you and bringing you to General Granze?"

"…Good point. But, wait. If we're worried about beastmen, what will happen to Lagann?"

"Lagann is hidden in a back alley, and I made sure to set a number of my spiral energy-powered traps to make sure that no curious soldier tries to steal it."

"I see. And what about any normal passerby?"

"Nobody here is going to want a dingy old Ganmen like Lagann. They're all too busy drinking and gambling."

"Dingy, huh?" Adam glared at her.

"I mean…"

"Never mind. So where are we going?"

"We're going to talk to some of the people here. I think if we ask around, we'll be able to find a mechanic."

"Alright, I-" Adam was interrupted by a particularly large person bumping into him. When he recovered and looked up, Eve was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, crap. This isn't good…"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Adam? Adam! ADAM! Agh, dammit! That dumbass went and got himself lost, right after I told him to stick with me! Why do I have to be a damn babysitter for this guy all the time?" Eve looked around for her lost companion furiously. "When I find him, I'm gonna kill him! I swear to god, I'll rip his friggin' head off!"

"Hey, buddy, didja hear? They got this…-hic- museum thing set up at the back of the building." A drunk passerby loudly proclaimed to his friend. "They say they've got the real live Gurren there!"

"Ahh, that's a bunch of crap. A museum? What are you, some kinda...some kinda scholar? Bwahahaha!"

The two drunken men stumbled off, arguing with each other. Eve glanced at them as they left, her curiosity piqued.

"Gurren, huh? It can't be, can it? Well, Adam and the mechanic can wait. This is CLEARLY more important."

She turned and started making her way to the back of the casino.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Hey, did ya hear about this? Seems like there's this little group'a people calling themselves the new Team Dai-Gurren. They've got Lagann and e'rything from what I heard. Seems like the New Beastman Army is gettin' pretty pissed at them too. I heard they even managed to beat one of the Beastmen lieutenants."

Kane looked up from his drink at the conversing men sitting next to him.

"Yeah, I heard about them. Word is it's just two guys and a girl. Imagine that, three people taking on an entire army, hahaha!" The more drunk of the two men laughed loudly. "

"Yeah, they ain't gonna last. Nobody can stand up to General Granze. In fact, rumor has it that they were last seen heading towards this city. I heard that beastmen troops were ordered to get over here ASAP, so don't be surprised if you see a bunch of soldiers harassing people." The more sober of the two said seriously.

"Harassin' people? We get that every day anyway! Hahaha!" The loud drunk laughed.

"Troops ordered to come to this city looking for us?" Kane murmured quietly. "This is bad. Especially with all of us separated like this. I had better-"

"Hey, buddy!" The drunk slapped Kane on the back. "Buy ya a drink? I'm in a great mood tonight!"

"W-Well, who am I to turn down a free drink? Bartender! Another round!"

Kane was quick to forget important things at the prospect of alcohol.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Jeez, this place is so crowded…" Adam muttered, making his way through the crowd in no particular direction.

He had no idea where he was going, and was beginning to get worried. He passed table after table, stumbling a few times. Adam had never even heard of a casino before today, let alone been inside one. He slipped again, this time bumping into somebody.

"Oooh, watch where you're going, handsome~" A lush, familiar voice said. "Wouldn't want to damage those good looks, would you?"

"I'm really sorry…" Adam said, looking up at the slightly tall figure he had bumped into. "H-Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"

"Well, well, well!" The tall man leaned towards Adam, a little too closely. "If it isn't the leader of Team Shin Dai-Gurren himself! I missed you, handsome!"

"H-h-handsome…?" Adam stammered, both terrified and confused. "Oh, y-yeah! You're that guy from New Jiha…L-Li-Le…"

"Leeron, honey." The man gestured to himself flamboyantly. Adam couldn't help but feel that there was something 'off' about this guy.

"Leeron…" Adam remembered the name from the dusty old journal he found when he discovered Lagann. "Screwing…very manly…"

Adam shuddered at the sudden disturbing implications of that journal entry.

"Hm? Something wrong?" Leeron glanced at Adam, who looked very pale.

"N-Nothing!" Adam shivered a little. "Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you lived in…New Littner?"

"Correct~!" Leeron held a finger up. "But I'm here on a vacation! Apara, the city of dreams!"

"More like a city of nightmares…" Adam muttered.

"Aww, is your stop here not turning out the way you thought it would?"

"I'm…lost." Adam muttered, sounding ashamed.

"Oh dear, that won't do. Did you come here with anyone else?"

"Yeah, but we got separated."

"Hmm, well, how about you stick with me? I'm sure we'll find your friends if we stick toge-"

"Nononono!" Adam said quickly, waving his hands. "How about we split up? We might find them faster that way."

"If you insist, handsome~" Leeron smiled mysteriously. "But you can't run away forever…"

"W-w-what?"

"Only kidding, darling."

"Jeez, you're…something else."

"Anyway, I'm certainly glad I ran into you again. It occurred to me after we parted ways last that you would be needing a mechanic."

"W-Wait, how did you know that? That would mean you figured it out before even we did!"

"Oh, silly child. I KNOW EVERYTHING."

"…Eh?" Adam's mind was on the point of shutting down. "Is that so…?"

"Of course not!" Leeron laughed. "It was simply a lucky guess. Anyway, I'm out of the Dai-Gurren game so I don't intend on joining you myself, but I have an apprentice who would be absolutely perfect~"

"Oh, really?" Adam nodded slowly.

"In fact, he accompanied me on my vacation~"

"Unlucky bastard…" Adam muttered.

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing."

"Anyway, you see that bar over there?" Leeron pointed towards a fairly empty bar across the room. "He's over there. Why not go say hi? I'm sure you two will have a lot to talk about."

"S-Sure…And what will you do?"

"Oh, I'll be around. I'm sure we'll meet again before you leave the city."

"Y-Yeah…Great."

Adam turned in the direction Leeron had pointed, gave him a wave, and ran off as quickly as his legs would allow. When he reached the bar, he looked around. There were only a few people milling about, including one grizzled-looking, and very familiar person.

"I…I don't believe it!" Adam was stunned. He hadn't expected to see this man for a long time yet. "I can't believe I actually found him! HEY, BRO! ABEL! OVER HERE!"

The man called Abel glanced up, pounding back a drink as he did. As soon as he saw Adam he gave him a warm smile.

"Well, well. If it isn't my little brother. Long time no see, eh, bro?"

CH. 15 END

Author's note: And so, Adam's brother Abel finally makes his appearance. I named him Abel to stick with the biblical thing I had going on. Oh, and Leeron! Yes, I decided to bring Leeron back, since I enjoy scaring Adam so much. Anyway, big things next chapter, big things. Look forward to it!


	16. This Is What We've Been Searching For!

Chapter 16

Eve weaved her way through the crowd gracefully, avoiding bumping into the many drunks and gamblers she passed. She swiftly worked her way to the back of the Silver Spiral, where Gurren supposedly awaited. The crowd was getting thinner as she got farther away from the gambling tables and bars. At last, she reached a big door at the back of the building.

"Hmm…" Eve looked at the slightly faded sign by the door. "Entertainment hall, huh? We'll see what's going on in here."

She pushed open the door, and was met with a curious sight, rather different from the rest of the casino. It was a moderately quiet hallway, and there didn't seem to be very many people around.

"Maybe it's at the end of this- Urk!"

Eve was lifted up by her collar from behind.

"What's a kid like you doin' wandering around here? There's no children allowed in the casino!"

"I'm not a kid, you oaf!" Eve snapped at the person who had lifted her, struggling to turn and see who had grabbed her. "K-Kane? What the hell do you think you're doing? Put me down!"

Kane grinned and dropped her. His face was red and he reeked of alcohol, but he seemed to be fairly stable.

"Just a little joke, Eve." He laughed. "But seriously, what are you doing back here?"

"I heard that Gurren was on display at the back of the casino."

"Really now? I suppose that warrants an investigation, but where's Adam?"

"I have no idea. The idiot wandered off somewhere. I was going to go find him, but then I heard about Gurren and decided that he could take care of himself for a bit."

"Hmm, I suppose…But in my thorough investigation I discovered that the New Beastmen Army is mobilizing towards Apara, and it would seem that we're their target. We may want to finish what we're doing here and get out of town."

"Right." Eve nodded. "Although, if we do find Gurren, we'll stand a better chance of escaping, should things go sour."

Kane nodded, and the two of them ran down the hall towards what they hoped would be what they had been searching for.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Long time no see, eh, bro?" The man called Abel smiled warmly at Adam. "How've you been?"

"I...can't believe I found you!" Adam repeated. "This is crazy! Don't get me wrong, this is totally awesome, but…"

"Ha ha!" Abel laughed boisterously. "Good to see you haven't changed a bit."

"Yeah…Wait, no! I've changed! I've gotten way stronger!"

"Yeah? Then come on. Arm-wrestle me." Abel put his elbow on the table.

"I would, but I got something more important to talk to you about."

"Something important?" Abel tilted his head slightly. "And what might that be?"

"Well, you know about how nasty the world is nowadays, right?" Adam started explaining. "And maybe you heard about Team Shin Dai-Gurren. Well, I was the one who found Lagann and started Shin Dai-Gurren, and we're gathering members so that we can take on General Granze and his cronies."

"You…started Shin Dai-Gurren?" Abel considered Adam's face for a moment. "…AHAHAHAHA! THAT'S HILARIOUS! THERE'S NO WAY!"

"It's true!"

"I know it is." Abel immediately responded, completely deadpan. "I can see the core drill hanging around your neck."

"Then why the hell did you laugh?" Adam snapped. "And wait, how do you know about the core drill?"

"I laughed because I like messing with you. You know that." Abel snickered. "And I know about the core drill because the guy I work for used to be part of the original Team Dai-Gurren, as hard as that is to believe."

"You mean you're the one Leeron told me to talk to?"

"Ahh, so you've met him. Creepy guy, isn't he?" Abel motioned to the bartender to pour him another drink. "He's gotta be the oldest guy I've ever met, and yet he looks like he's only just hitting middle age…And the way he talks…"

"You're rambling, bro." Adam pointed out.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyway, Leeron knows his stuff. And he taught me everything he knows. You could direct me to Lagann and I'd be able to repair it, despite never actually seeing the thing with my own eyes."

Abel took a sip of his drink, and then swallowed the rest of it in one gulp, giving a mighty, satisfied sigh.

"R-Really? That's awesome!" Adam looked pleased. "I was looking for a mechanic to join the team anyway, and you know damn well I want my brother to come along, so it worked out both ways."

"Yeah, but…" Abel looked serious. "Adam, you know I'd do anything for you. The only reason I left you at home with Dad was because you were too young to survive the real world. I knew someday you'd decide on a goal for yourself and set out to achieve it, but, taking on the New Beastman Army? That's kind of a dangerous goal, wouldn't you say?"

Adam considered Abel's words.

"Yeah, I know it's dangerous." Adam said firmly. "But I've seen how Granze and his soldiers treat humans, and it sickens me. I don't want fame or glory. I just can't stand idly by and let those sick bastards keep doing what they're doing. It's wrong, and ignoring it would just add to the problem, you understand?"

"Yeah, I understand." Abel nodded. "And I can see you're dead-set on winning, so count me in."

Abel held out his hand and Adam shook it vigorously.

"Oh, and Adam?"

"Yeah, bro?"

"When you meet this General Granze, make sure you kick his ass."

"I don't need you to tell me that!"

"AHAHAHA!" Abel laughed heartily. "Bartender! Another round!"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Well, the sign outside this door says that they're showing Gurren inside." Kane read the sign outside the next big door that they had reached.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Eve opened the door and her jaw dropped.

There it was, just as promised. The huge red and black machine that had served the previous incarnation of Dai-Gurren so well for so long. It looked as though it had been refurbished, as the people of Sisao had done for Lagann, but there was no mistaking it. This was definitely the legendary Gurren.

"I-I can't believe we found it!" Eve looked positively euphoric.

"It's really something." Kane murmured. "So what's the plan?"

"What's the plan? We're going to take it, that's what."

"Take it? You mean we're going to steal something that's on display where everyone can see it?"

"Exactly!"

"And how, pray tell, do you propose we do that?"

"First of all, we need to scope it out a bit, you know what I mean? We need to see if there's any easy way to get up inside it without attracting attention."

"Eve, you're starting to sound reckless." Kane smirked. "Just like a certain other person we know."

"Hm, maybe so." Eve laughed. "Now quit standing around and let's get to work."

The two of them walked into the big open room and glanced around. There seemed to be a smattering of disinterested patrons, but otherwise there didn't seem to be very many witnesses around.

"Eve, I don't know if this occurred to you yet, but there's no way we'll be able to get Gurren out of this building without SOMEBODY noticing."

"Oh, it occurred to me. Did it occur to you that we most likely won't be returning to Apara once we obtain what we need?"

"Well…yes…Eve, you can't possibly mean…"

Eve didn't answer, but the gleam in her eye was enough to give away her intentions.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"R-Really?" Adam looked shocked. "First I find you, and now you're telling me that Gurren is here too? AWESOME!"

"Yeah, they dug it out of a big sand pit awhile back and it's been on display here at the Silver Spiral since. Leeron decided it'd be fun to come see it, and he dragged me along, which is why I'm here now."

"Where is it?" Adam looked elated. "I bet wherever it is, my friends are on their way to it already!"

"It's at the back of the casino. Over that way." Abel turned back to the bar after pointing. "Bartender another- Ah!"

Adam had grabbed Abel's collar and was dragging him off towards the back of the building at a furious pace.

"A-Adam! Slow down, you idiot!"

"No time, no time!"

"W-What are you planning? Wait, WAIT! You said you were piloting Lagann, right? You aren't thinking of…"

"Damn right I'm thinking of it!" Adam grinned excitedly. "I'm gonna hijack Gurren!"

"YOU MORON!" Abel shouted, despite the casino being far too loud for anyone to hear or care. "IDIOT! STUPID! DAMMIT, LET GO!"

"I thought you said you'd do anything!"

"I did, but...!"

"I'll pay for all those drinks you bought!" Adam bargained as he dragged his brother. "Come on, bro! I need your help on this!"

"You're some kinda crazy, you know that, Adam?" Abel smirked after a minute. "Fine! I'll help! I guess this is how it works in Shin Dai-Gurren, isn't it?"

"Of course! Who the hell do you think we are?"

And with that, Adam burst through the doors at the back of the casino, charging down the hall towards the presentation room. He kicked open the door, Abel in tow.

"Adam!" Eve turned, looking shocked.

"Of course, you make the loudest entrance possible, you fool." Kane laughed.

"What's that…thing you're dragging behind you?" Eve wondered, looking a bit repulsed at Abel's grizzly appearance.

"Well, hello to you too, you little bit-" Abel started, and then raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you're actually kind of cute. How old are you?"

"Bro, quit being a skeeze!" Adam dropped Abel on his ass and turned to Eve. "So that's Gurren, huh? That thing is awesome!"

"Yeah, that's it. And now that you're here, we can get out of here before the New Beastman Army shows up-"

The doors behind them crashed down suddenly, and soldiers clad in dark fatigues and body armor charged in, wielding large guns.

"TEAM SHIN DAI-GURREN!" One of the soldiers barked. "You're under arrest for crimes against the New Beastman Army, under order for execution by General Granze himself! Give yourselves up!"

"Crap, Adam!" Eve reached for one of the devices on her belt, which sparked green as soon as it was in her hand. She threw the device to the ground, and it exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke.

"Right! Come on, Abel! Kane!"

The four Shin Dai-Gurren members slipped into the smoke cloud, running towards the large machine that awaited them. Kane climbed up on the arm, using his blade to crack the thick lock that was attached to the cockpit entrance. Adam then vaulted into the machine, Able swung in behind him and Eve climbed up onto the other arm. Adam gave the controls a shove, and another, attempting to start Gurren up.

"Come on, COME ON!" He screamed at the machine. "We need to go, NOW!"

Gurren creaked, as Lagann had during its first run, and after a moment, all of the many displays surrounding Adam lit up bright green. Gurren lifted one leg slowly, and then stomped it down in front of it, and then the other, and after a moment, began to charge.

"YEAAAH!" Adam yelled out of pure adrenaline. "IT'S GO TIME!"

The mighty Gurren tore past the puny squad of beastman soldiers, who were opening fire on its legs ineffectively. The machine smashed through the wall of the presentation building, ripping up the roof of the hallway as it charged through. It smashed through the Silver Spiral's main hall, tipping and breaking tables and sending the crowd scattering. Eve directed Adam through the front entrance wall, and then to the alley where she had hidden Lagann, leaving the Silver Spiral a torn-up mess.

"Alright, Abel." Adam said once they had reached Lagann. "You stay here, and I'll get in Lagann!"

"Got it. This is gonna be a lot of fun." Abel looked excited.

Kane and Eve climbed into Gurren as Adam climbed out, vaulting into Lagann as soon as his feet touched the ground. He fired up Lagann's controls, and climbed up onto Gurren with it. Lagann's legs collapsed into its body, and a large drill, much like the one it always used for combining, popped out. Lagann burrowed into Gurren with ease, locking into place.

"Alright! This is how it should be done! Time to combine…GURREN LAGAAANN!" Adam shouted.

The armor on Gurren became more durable looking, and a pristine shine emanated from the glorious machine. Lagann's head changed as well, donning a red and gold helmet, seemingly from nowhere.

"We did it…" Eve said, her voice coming in over the communicator. "We actually did it! Adam, Abel, let's get out of here!"

"Right!" Adam and Abel nodded simultaneously.

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet, you foolish monkeys." A harsh, familiar voice called. "You may have Gurren Lagann, but will it be enough?"

"Who's…It's him." Adam looked serious, subconsciously running a hand over the scar on his chest. "Long time no see, pal."

"I'm not your friend, human." The voice was coming from a white Ganmen, standing down the street, twirling a sword in each of its six arms. "In case you have forgotten, which I don't doubt, with that infantile human brain of yours…My name is Viral, Lieutenant of the New Beastman Army. And today, pathetic humans, you die for your crimes."

CH. 16 END


	17. There's No Way We're Quitting! Not Now!

Chapter 17

"Oh, don't think I've forgotten you, Viral. There's no way I'd forget that awesome beatdown I gave you at New Jiha!" Adam taunted. "You did give me a nasty scratch on my chest, but it's nothing a badass like me can't handle."

"So much drivel spewing from that obnoxious mouth of yours." Viral growled. "I'll shut you up once and for all! PREPARE TO DIE!"

Viral's six-armed Ganmen pointed its swords at Gurren Lagann and charged forward. Adam and Abel braced Gurren Lagann for impact. When Viral made his approach, Abel swung Gurren's arm up, grabbing one of Eiken's blades, and Adam used the other arm to swat two of the other swords out of Eiken's hands.

"As expected." Viral stated simply. "You fight just like they did."

"Like who did, beastman?" Adam retorted, using Gurren's free hand to grab another blade.

"Team Dai-Gurren, fool!" Viral snapped, as one of his blades clanged at Gurren's arm. "I've been around far longer than you know, and in that time, I've battled both Simon, and Kamina! And you fight just like those two did back then!"

"K-Kamina?" Adam hesitated for a moment at the name, allowing Viral to break free of Gurren's grip, kicking it aside and picking up the blades lying on the ground.

"That's right, human!" Viral leapt into the air, attempting a downward stab.

Gurren Lagann rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding six blades to the head. In a spectacular manoeuvre, Gurren vaulted up off the ground, punching at Eiken's arm, denting it heavily. Once Gurren's hand was embedded in Eiken's arm, Adam gave Lagann's controls a shove, creating a large drill, which replaced Gurren's hand and tore through Eiken's arm like it wasn't even there.

"One down!" Adam shouted.

"Careful, Adam!" Abel called, lifting an arm to protect Lagann's face from an oncoming blade.

"Breaking Eiken's arms will only work for so long, human! And even then, I've made some adjustments!" Viral laughed nastily as he swung at whatever point on Gurren Lagann's body he could hit.

"Dammit, he's going to keep up the assault until we're out of spiral energy, and then we're screwed!"

"Screw that, Abel!" Adam yelled. "Don't let his rush tactics scare you! He's vicious, but he's still pissed about the last time we fought, and he's barely planning his moves!"

"Adam, you're right, but don't do anything stupid!" Eve called. "If you burn out all your spiral energy, he'll destroy us in a second!"

"Remember, Adam." Kane stated, calm as always. "Stay calm and focused."

"Got it!" Adam pushed Lagann's controls forward, slamming another drill into one of Eiken's blades, blowing it apart. "We're gonna win this battle and send General Granze a message!"

"The only message General Granze will receive is the death of Shin Dai-Gurren at the hands of Lieutenant Viral!" Viral shouted in a fury.

Eiken swung all five of its remaining blades at Gurren's arm with enough force to rip it wide open, exposing its inner workings. Sparks flew from the gash in the arm.

"D-Dammit!" Abel shouted. "We can't use our right arm!"

"Then we'll just show him our kickass left hook!" Adam yelled, slamming Gurren's left fist into Eiken's face, knocking it down. "NOW, ABEL! PIN HIM DOWN!"

"Right!" Abel nodded, ripping whatever blades Gurren could get its hands on out of Eiken's grip, then shoving them deep into the white Ganmen's arms, all the way through to the ground.

"Nggh!" Viral struggled to rip the blades out, but Eiken was trapped. "You humans probably think you're clever!"

KRAK! Gurren Lagann stomped on the last arm, pinning it down.

"Looks like we win, beastman." Adam proclaimed confidently. "That makes it two for us, jack for you."

"Don't be so sure." Viral flashed his feral shark grin, fearless as ever. "Remember how I said I made some adjustments?"

Suddenly, all six of Eiken's arms exploded, launching Gurren Lagann back into a nearby building. A cloud of dust and debris flew up as Gurren Lagann struggled to stand.

"That idiot blew himself up!" Adam looked shocked at Viral's foolish suicide tactics. "What a way to go!"

"Wait, Adam!" Eve leaned over Abel's shoulder to look at the monitors. "We're still picking up his signal!"

A smoke cloud had billowed up from the explosion, and it was impossible to see anything through it, but after a moment, clicking and whirring noises could be heard from inside the smoke. After a moment the clicking and whirring ceased, and a sharp whine, like that of a sawblade cut through the silence.

"YOU LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!" A ferocious cry emitted from Eiken as it charged out of the smoke. Somehow, all of the arms had regrown, and were wielding more deadly blades, spinning at a ridiculous speed like a deadly windmill.

"What the hell? Get ready, Abel!"

Eiken slammed into Gurren Lagann, grinding its high-speed blades against Gurren's raised left arm.

"Adam! There's no way the arm's gonna hold out against this!" Abel called. "Think of something quick!"

"I GOT THIS!" Adam yelled, engaging a thick drill on Gurren's left arm, using it as a shield against Viral's assault.

"More drills, eh, human?" Viral laughed. "How predictable! And yet, you continue to waste my time with these antics!"

"Shut the hell up!" Adam growled. "As long as we can still fight, we can still win! What the hell do you know about us! WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR SHIN DAI-GURREN SPIRIT?"

"That's right!" Abel pushed Gurren's controls forward, inching Viral's grinding blades away from it slightly. "We're not giving up, not now, not ever! Impossible odds are just miracles waiting to happen!"

The drill chipped slightly under the pressure of Eiken's buzzing blades.

"Doing the impossible was Dai-Gurren's way, and we're carrying on that legacy!" Eve joined in the rousing speech. "We take up arms against you and your evil actions because everyone else is too afraid to!"

"You fools! Give it up now! I know all of Gurren Lagann's finer points!"

"You don't know crap about Gurren Lagann!" Adam yelled. "Quit your bluffing!"

"Oh, I assure you!" Viral snarled. "I too was once a member of Dai-Gurren! I bought that idealistic bullcrap, just like you're doing now! You humans are all the same! You don't think about anything unless you get something out of it!"

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Adam yelled, pushing on Lagann's controls, pushing the arm back further, as bits of the drill flew back into Lagann's face. At this point it was a contest of sheer strength and force.

"I WAS HAPPY, YOU FOOLS!" Viral shouted, in a berserk rage. "I HAD IT ALL AND YOU FOUL HUMANS TOOK IT AWAY FROM ME!"

"I don't know what you're saying, but I don't have time for this! The longer you keep this up, the longer you're preventing us from reaching our goal!" Adam's eyes began to shine a brilliant emerald color as his grip tightened on Lagann's controls.

The intensity of Adam's spiral energy was reaching a critical point. He gritted his teeth as it flowed through his body. His hands began to hurt, growing hot as they gripped Lagann's controls tightly. The metal triggers grew red-hot, scalding Adam's hands as he struggled to shove them forward.

"We'll continue to move forward on the path to greatness…" He snarled through gritted teeth. "We'll always move forward as long as we keep our goal in sight! We aren't going to yield to you, or anyone else!"

Gurren's arm, violently damaged drill and all, pushed Eiken's blades back even further. Large pieces of the drill were flying off and mingling with the sparks in the air.

"I'LL END YOU, YOU GODDAMN HUMANS!"

Adam responded with a mighty yell, swinging Gurren's arm up into the blades, shattering all of them simultaneously and sending hundreds of pieces of metal flying in all directions.

"I-IMPOSSIBLE!" Viral screamed in spite of himself. "There's no way-!"

The fist didn't stop at the blades. The sheer force of the punch ripped apart all of Eiken's regenerated arms, and then slammed into its face, with all of Adam's unwillingness to die transformed into sheer strength. Eiken flew extremely far, through multiple buildings and slamming deep into the ground several streets away.

After a few moments, Viral crawled from the flaming wreckage of his Ganmen, clutching his broken arm. After a moment, Gurren Lagann stomped through the wreckage of Apara and stopped in front of the tiny looking beastman. Adam climbed out of Lagann, jumping down in front of Viral, ready to defend himself if need be.

"You…Fool. You could finish me off with Gurren Lagann right now. Why are you choosing to face me?"

"Because as much as I hate what your people have done, I also respect you, Viral. I respect that you're willing to remain faithful to your cause, despite staring death in the face. If you ask me, that's the kind of spirit that can only come from someone strong."

"I'm not strong. I lost to you. You and your damn spiral energy…" Viral growled. "Like so many times before, I lost to someone capable of doing the impossible."

"Nothing's impossible, Viral. Not for someone who stands up for what they believe in. I want to defeat General Granze. That's my motivation to keep fighting. Even if I'm battered, bloody and broken at the end, I'm living for the knowledge that I'm making the world a better place by beating him. It's his fault beastmen and humans are at odds like this, and I want to change all that."

"You idiot!" Viral yelled. "You damned idiot! You don't understand anything, you naïve fool! Humans are all intolerant beasts! You deserve what you got! After what you did to me…"

"So this isn't about your pride for your race." Adam observed. "This is about single-minded revenge."

"Tch, so it's that obvious. I could care less about beastmen. All I care about is filling the void in my heart! The void that you humans created! You took something very dear away from me, something that can't be returned!"

Viral took his hand off his broken arm and punched Adam in the face. Adam staggered, rubbing his cheek. He looked at Viral after a moment, not an ounce of his usual cheerfulness in his face.

"Tell me." He said, sitting down on a nearby piece of debris. "I want to know what the human race could have done to make you so bitter. You were once a member of Team Dai-Gurren, and yet now you're a hateful cynic. What could have happened to change you like this?"

"So, you really want to hear my story, human?" Viral considered the young man sitting before him. "Very well. Perhaps if you hear how disgusting your race can be, you'll reconsider this foolish quest and give up."

Viral held his arm again, going over to another piece of debris opposite Adam and sitting down, wincing a bit.

"This is a long story, human. It all began way back when the world was still united…"

CH. 17 END

Author's Note: Yes, yes, I know, a fairly short chapter and a fairly short battle, barely more than a struggle. But I wanted to set up next chapter, the entirety of which will be focused on Viral and his fall from grace and subsequent joining of the New Beastman Army. It's a little different than what I've been doing so far, but I've been planning out this origin story since Return To The Heavens began. Look forward to it!


	18. Ashes To Ashes

(Alright, here it is, Viral's backstory. I'm not sure how well I can write serious material, but please, bear with me on this…)

Chapter 18

The sky was blue and the sun lazed about in the air. It was clearly a perfect day for working outdoors. Viral stretched a bit, a light breeze blowing his hair slightly. He contemplated how much things had changed since Simon had left.

It had been years and years since then. Viral hadn't changed much at all, being a beastman, but his human friends had all aged. Rossiu had retired from leading the earth, and a new leader had been elected, but Viral didn't particularly care. He had stepped down from his position as ambassador years ago already. Seeing the universe was all well and good, but after a while he began to yearn for some quiet time on his own planet. Politically, the planet was in a bit of an uncertain time, but that only affected the people in the big cities.

Since his retirement from being galactic ambassador, Viral had gotten married. A private joke of his was always imagining what his old self, from his days serving under Lordgenome, would say if he could see himself marrying a human woman in the future. That is exactly what happened, after much careful consideration on Viral's part. He had considered the bleak possibility of outliving his wife, but medical technology was so advanced at this point that humans were already living as long as, and occasionally outliving, beastmen.

The changes in Viral's life didn't stop at marriage. He and his new bride had found one of the rare patches of rural greenery outside the cityscapes and settled down, building a farm from virtually nothing. There wasn't much use for farms in this day and age, but it kept Viral busy and prevented him from growing too lazy.

But the biggest change of all had been one that had put Viral and his wife in the public eye for quite some time, generating a moderate amount of controversy. After a number of years on the farm, Viral began to lament the fact that he wouldn't be able to give his wife a child. It was his lack of spiral energy that prevented reproduction in his race. So, after much thought, he turned to science.

With the help of his old friends in the R&D department of New Kamina City, of which Leeron happened to be in charge (much to Viral's chagrin.), DNA samples from both Viral and his human wife were submitted, to create something not unlike a clone. Once word got out that the first half-human, half-beastman hybrid had been born, the public's opinion of Viral varied from person to person.

But Viral didn't care about controversy, media attention, or anything else, apart from what he had. He had a beautiful wife and a little girl, and nobody was going to make him change his ways. At least, that's what he thought…

A couple of years after the 'birth' of Viral's artificially-produced daughter had been noteworthy, Viral and his family slipped back into anonymity. The public's attention was currently on Rossiu's successor and his outlandish and reckless behaviour. He had severed all ties with the races across the universe that Team Dai-Gurren had worked so hard to establish, and people were growing disgruntled at how the world was turning out. Viral hadn't paid much attention to the news, but he was aware that eventually something would happen, and that he should be prepared for the worst.

And just as he had thought, something did happen. It took a number of months, but one fateful day, the 'tyrannical despot', as the public had begun referring to him, was killed on live television by one of his own generals. The general had been standing behind him while he was making a speech, and at the climax of the speech, had stepped up and slit the man's throat, in front of the entire world. The general, who had apparently been a disgruntled beastman, was dragged off to serve multiple life sentences in prison.

What happened afterwards is to this day a hazy memory of Viral's. Without a leader, the world's population fell into anarchy, with looters and riots and murders happening day after day. Viral and his family lived a sheltered existence, and as such were safe from the dangerous battlegrounds that the cities were turning into. Even still, every now and then Viral could see ashes drifting down into the air in front of his home, presumably from some burning building in the nearest city.

Even with the madness that had erupted in the cities, Viral was still a farmer, and as such, needed to go into town to sell his wares, same as he had always done. He was always careful, and he was certainly still strong from his days as a Ganmen pilot, but he was always appalled to see what the world was turning into, no matter how many times he saw it.

Months passed, the earth still in its abysmal, lawless state. Life wasn't getting any better, but it also wasn't getting any worse for Viral. As long as he and his family distanced themselves from what was going on in the city, everything was fine. At least, until the violence couldn't be contained inside the city any longer…

On one particular day, Viral had left home to sell his latest harvest. As always, he promised his wife he'd return safely, and gave his little girl a hug before he left. He couldn't shake a feeling of unease as he made his way towards the towering skyscrapers in the distance though. He had heard rumors on his last trip to town that the beastman general had escaped prison and was on the loose again. The thought of a man who would kill someone on live televison roaming around free made Viral worry.

As he reached town, he could hear announcements being played over the loudspeaker network set up all over the city. It wasn't the usual warnings from the local militia, nor was it evacuation alerts today. This time it was a low smooth voice, announcing the shift in power, namely to one "General Granze."

"General Granze…" Viral murmured. "That's the one who…Who killed the last leader! Why is he declaring himself leader?"

"I'm sure you'll find that things will change for the better." The smooth voice reassured. "I have formed what I call the New Beastman Army, and we will be acting as the driving force that brings law back to the world."

"New Beastman Army, huh?" Viral wondered aloud, still carrying the crate of goods he had brought with him. "They're going to stop the riots…That's good, I suppose."

As Viral passed the usual throngs of people, making sure not to make eye contact, he couldn't help but notice that some of the more violent ones were being arrested by men in black fatigues and armour he had never seen before. The others seemed to be retreating out of the city, a couple bumping into Viral as they passed him.

The feeling of unease Viral had was growing more and more noticeable by the minute. Eventually he went from feeling merely uncomfortable to wanting to go home immediately. As he wandered the streets he eventually forgot what he was doing and dropped his crate. He looked around. Cars were being flipped and fires started. People were even shooting at each other. That day Viral saw a number of people being beaten and gunned down. For the first time in a long time, Viral was afraid. He was afraid for the people he passed, and he was afraid for his own life as well.

"I…I need to get home." He muttered in a bit of a daze, talking to himself.

He turned and headed towards the south exit of the city, as he did, a building somewhere nearby exploded. The anarchists had started blowing things up. Viral started running, trying to block out the sounds of gunfire and screams. Another explosion, and ashes and debris were dropping nearby. Viral broke out into a full sprint, wanting to get home and ensure his family's safety as soon as he could. He was getting the sensation that something very bad was happening even now.

As he ran down the dirt road to his farm he stopped for a moment, able to see an orange glow emitting from the hill where his house sat. There was smoke. Viral felt a terrified stab of fear in his gut as he started running again, attempting to block the worst-case scenario out of his mind.

Fate had another cruel idea in store, however. As he ran up the hill to his home, he could already see that what he had feared was actually happening. The entire farm was in flames. For a moment, Viral could see a couple of figures running from the site, presumably looters, or rather, arsonists. Viral began to run towards the burning house, hoping he could still save his beloved wife and daughter, but before he could reach the building, it collapsed in on itself.

Viral didn't know what to do, so he fell to his knees. Arsonists had killed his family and taken his life away from him. He kneeled before the burning remains of his home and said a silent prayer for the souls of his family. He tried to stand but couldn't bring himself to. It began to rain heavily, which eventually doused the flames, but there was nothing left to salvage from the home he once had.

After a long time Viral stood. He walked away from the wreckage of what his life used to be, and continued to walk. As he wandered into the city, he bumped into a tall strong figure.

"Please, young beastman, watch where you're walking."

"I'm sorry…Forgive me."

"You look like a broken man." The giant figure looked Viral over. "What happened to you?"

"I-I lost everything…" Viral said, nearly choking on his works. "Arsonists…They burned down my home. I lost my wife and daughter…"

"Daughter, hm? Tell me, are you Viral?" The tall figure asked. "If so, you're quite famous. It wouldn't surprise me if this was a hate crime."

"A…A hate crime?"

"Yes. Humans are vain and petty creatures. I wouldn't doubt that they believe it's wrong for you to have created your daughter. They fear change, you see…"

"So, it was humans who did this to me…"

"Yes, I'm sure a beastman would have more honor than to burn down someone's home…Tell me, young Viral. What do you want to do now?"

"I don't want anything anymore…"

"Nihilism isn't this answer, you fool!" The giant figure slapped Viral harshly. "Don't give in to your despair! Use it! Use it to exact vengeance upon those who have wronged you!"

"But…That isn't my way…Or it wasn't…when I was in Team Dai-Gurren..."

"You aren't in Team Dai-Gurren anymore. But wouldn't they want you to do what you believe is right? Wouldn't they want you to keep moving forward?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then continue to move forward. My name is General Granze, and I would like to offer you a chance to join me and the New Beastman Army. Together, we will rid the world of this injustice that plagues it."

"Join you…and battle injustice, huh? And you believe that this is the best way?"

"For you, young Viral, I believe this to be the ONLY way."

Viral considered his words carefully, but his grief-stricken heart refused to allow his mind to consider anything but one response. Slowly, Viral's mouth curled up into a nasty, shark-toothed grin, giving off an air of viciousness that he hadn't shown since he had served under Lordgenome.

"Very well. I'll join your New Beastman Army. If nothing else, it'll satisfy my thirst for vengeance."

"Excellent." General Granze gave a low, sinister laugh, and turned towards the center of the city, slowly walking away.

After taking a moment to engrave the thought of his new resolve in his mind, Viral followed after Granze. As the previous chapter of his life blew away like ashes in the wind, a whole new, bloody era was just beginning.

CH. 18 END

Author's Note: Hmm, it's not as good as it could have been, but I think I got my point across. Let me know what you think. Anyway, next chapter we're back to the present day, so look forward to it.


	19. Next Time We Meet, It's On!

(A brief note about a mistake that was pointed out to me about last chapter. Beastmen lack DNA along with spiral energy, hence a minor plot hole. I honestly have no idea how to handwave this, so I'm trusting you, the readers, to come up with your own conclusion to that conundrum.)

Chapter 19

It was raining, or more accurately, pouring by the time Viral finished his tale. Adam stood up, rain spattering his shoulders. He looked at his crestfallen foe, and tried to find words that Viral wouldn't take as patronizing or sympathetic. He wasn't looking for pity, Adam could tell.

"That's my story, human. Now you know why I despise your kind." Viral looked up at Adam, as though he expected a swift death.

"Viral, I…can't pretend to understand what it's like to lose family to someone else's war, believe me." Adam chose his words carefully. "But I understand you better now, and I respect you even more for your decision."

"What the hell do you know?" Viral looked away.

"I know that I don't agree with your actions, but I do agree with your resolve. Any other man would have just given up after going what you went through, but you decided you weren't going to let your sorrow dominate you."

"You…" Viral looked surprised. "You're surprisingly perceptive for a human."

Adam smiled sadly. He did feel sorry for the beastman sitting before him, but he knew that Viral would only take offense to an apology.

"Thanks…need a hand?" Adam held out a hand. Viral hesitated a moment, still clinging to his wounded pride, but after a moment he took Adam's hand and stood.

"You're an amusing human." Viral smirked after a moment. "You remind me of Simon. Although, hm. You've probably heard that quite a bit, haven't you?"

"Actually…no, I don't think so." Adam laughed.

Viral clutched at his arm after a moment, as though he suddenly realized that it was broken.

"Dammit…That hurts." He winced. "You really did a number on my arm…I suppose that means this is your victory."

"Heh, I guess so."

"I'll retreat for today, but I warn you, human. General Granze is a vicious individual. He will show you no mercy should you continue to oppose him."

"That's alright." Adam gave Viral a trademark grin. "I can't wait to go toe-to-toe with this guy and show him the strength of my resolve."

"The strength of your resolve…"

"That's right. Maybe I'm not strong enough to win against him, but I'm strong enough to try."

"Very well. Then the next time we meet, we'll be enemies again."

"I'll look forward to a rematch with you, Viral."

Viral flashed his toothy smile, looking pleased at the prospect of another challenge.

"Then you should know that I won't lose next time."

"We'll see, buddy. We'll see."

Viral gave a hoarse laugh and turned to walk away, still clutching his broken arm.

"Oh, your name is Adam, correct?"

"Huh? Yeah…Adam, mighty leader of Shin Dai-Gurren."

"Big-headed as always…" Viral muttered as he walked off.

Shortly after Viral took his leave, Eve, Abel, and Kane all climbed out of Gurren, looking concerned.

"Adam, what's with you? You were just standing there talking to him, and then you let him leave?"

"It'd be weak if I killed him here in the rain, wouldn't it?" Adam stated simply. "I want a rematch with that guy sometime."

"You idiot." Eve muttered, but with a small smile.

"Wow, bro. I'm impressed!" Abel gave Adam a wide grin, which was apparently a family trait. "I didn't think you could be such a badass!"

"You know it!" Adam laughed.

"I have to admit, I am surprised." Kane coolly stated. "I knew you had a lot of spiral energy, but that was rather spectacular."

"Thanks! I try my best to always look cool!"

"So why doesn't it usually work?" Eve mocked Adam as usual, rolling her eyes. "Jeez, you always rush into things without thinking…And this time you could have gotten all four of us killed!"

"Sorry, sorry…" Adam looked a bit ashamed of himself. "I'll try to think more about what I'm doing in battle next time."

"No, you won't." Eve shot down Adam's apology flatly.

"HEY! You can't just disregard me like that!"

"Ha ha…" Kane laughed. "They're at it again."

"Again?" Abel raised an eyebrow. "You mean they're always at each other's throats like this? Watching them is like watching an old-"

"DON'T SAY IT!" Adam yelled hurredly.

"Mmmm…" Kane started slowly sounding out the dreaded final words of Abel's sentence. "Mmmmarried couple."

Eve drop-kicked Adam, sending him face-first into the mud. He quickly sat up, spitting mud and yelling at Kane, using words far too obscene to be mentioned in mixed company.

Kane started laughing even harder, and quickly Abel joined in, which made Adam even more angry. As the four members of Shin Dai-Gurren celebrated their victory in their own 'special' way, a crowd gathered, murmuring and wondering whether it was safe.

"Oh, it looks like they're here to cheer for us!" Adam looked pleased.

Four people out of the three dozen or so came forward after a moment and congratulated Adam on his spectacular victory, and asked excitedly if they could join Shin Dai-Gurren. They looked a bit…rag-tag, but two of them had their own custom Ganmen, so naturally Adam agreed to all of them, demanding boisterously that each new member introduce himself.

"Yo!" The first man, a cheerful looking, well-built individual gave a hearty wave. "Name's Noah! I'm mighty glad to be helpin' you guys out!"

"…Hey." The second, a rail-thin, shifty looking gent with a scraggly beard and a cigarette, said in a deadpan fashion. "Ezekial. Call me Zeke. Just try not to get us all killed and I'll gladly come along."

"Hello there." The third, a kindly looking girl, smiled brightly. "My name is Mari. I'm not good at piloting Ganmen, but I'm rather good at cooking, so I hope I can be of some use!"

"Ha ha, hey there." The final man, a laid back man with no shirt and a skullcap, along with what appeared to be a pair of communication headphones hanging around his neck, smiled slightly. "Good to be working for you, boss man. Name's Jeb. Just point me towards the nearest set of comm. equipment and I'll make myself right at home."

"Nice to meet you all!" Adam proclaimed happily. "Hm? Hey, it's Leeron!"

Leeron had suddenly appeared at the front of the crowd, looking as cheerful and flamboyant as he always did.

"Well, looks like you drove the beastmen off. How very impressive, Adam~!"

"T-Thanks…" Adam smiled a bit forcedly.

"Oh, lighten up." Abel muttered, elbowing him. "He's always like that, and you know it."

"I can hear you, Abel."

"C-Crap, I didn't mean it!"

"Ahaha~" Leeron laughed airly. "Anyway, I came to offer you a little parting gift. You haven't got quite as many members as we did when we used it back in our heyday, but…"

"B-Boss, you're giving him THAT?"

"Oh yes, Abel. He needs it more than we do! Or should I say, I do, since you'll be accompanying him?"

"Y-Yeah, I suppose so. But we were using it as a mobile garage…"

"Oh hush. I'm going straight back to New Littner anyway. I can just work from there for now. But do try to bring it back in one piece. I've grown rather fond of it over the years."

"What is it? WHAT IS IT?" Adam looked extremely excited.

"It's by the gate. Go see for yourself!" Leeron turned and gave a wave before weaving back into the crowd. "Good luck, Shin Dai-Gurren! I'm sure our paths will rub up against each other again!"

"I-Isn't there ANY other way he could have said that?" Eve muttered.

"Nope. That's Leeron for you…" Abel sighed, sounding exasperated and embarrassed. "Well, go on, Adam…Holy crap, he's already gone! That kid."

"Hm. He tore off in a hurry." Zeke was watching Adam run off towards the gate.

"Ha ha! Look at that spirit!" Noah laughed. "Whatta guy!"

"Oh my…I hope he doesn't trip. The ground is slippery." Mari looked concerned, and Adam tripped over his own feet as soon as she mentioned it. "O-Oh dear! Adam, are you alright?"

Adam quickly got up and held up a hand, wiping mud off his pants and jacket.

"Whoa, the boss took quite a spill there!" Jeb chuckled. "And this is the guy that wants to beat General Granze? What a cool dude."

"Who says 'dude' anymore?" Zeke glanced at him, looking annoyed.

Adam ran outside the gate, skidding to a halt when he saw the glorious machine that awaited him there. The most basic description would be that it looked like a giant Ganmen with a battleship for a torso. Granted, this legendary transport vessel wasn't as big as it had once been, but Adam wasn't concerned with the size or the condition.

"HOLY CRAP, IT'S THE BATTLESHIP, DAI-GURREN!" He shouted excitedly, not noticing Gurren Lagann and his seven compatriots being tossed out of Apara's gate in a rush, the gate slamming behind them.

"I guess they weren't happy about us destroying the Silver Spiral…" Eve said. "Fair, considering it was the biggest casino in town...Whoa, wait! Is that what I think it is?"

"Yup." Abel stood up, dusting himself off. "That's what's left of what was originally known as Dai-Gurren. Simon and the rest of Team Dai-Gurren used it to transport Gurren Lagann and their other Ganmen from place to place."

"Incredible." Kane looked impressed.

"INCREDIBLE? MORE LIKE MIND-SHATTERINGLY AMAZING!" Noah shouted, looking just as excited as Adam.

"It's pretty cool!" Jeb grinned. "I bet it's got a sweet communications setup."

"It's really something!" Mari agreed earnestly.

"It's cool…I suppose." Zeke murmured, but he was grinning ever so slightly.

"It's gotten smaller over the years." Abel explained. "Basically, it used to be able to house dozens of Ganmen at a time, but after Granze took over he had all of the galactic fleet ships scrapped, including this one. Leeron and I happened upon it one day while looking for salvage. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy, and that's saying something. Anyway, we spent six months fixing the thing up, and now it's quite a bit smaller but it should be more than enough for the eight of us and a few more."

"I assume it has everything we need?" Kane asked.

"But of course." Abel nodded, looking proud. "It has a fully functioning garage, kitchen and quarters, along with a hanger big enough for…at this point, I'd say about five Gurren Lagann sized Ganmen, not to mention all the space on the deck."

"This is so AWESOME!" Adam raised his fists triumphantly in the air. "I don't care if we got kicked out of Apara! We've got ourselves Dai-Gurren!"

The rest of Team Shin Dai-Gurren each raised a fist as well and let out a cheer. Abel and Adam got into Gurren Lagann and directed it into the hangar of Dai-Gurren, while Zeke and Noah did the same with their Ganmen, whose builds each matched their respective owner. Eve went off to look around, with Mari tagging along behind her, and Jeb fell asleep as soon as he found his quarters. Kane volunteered to pilot Dai-Gurren, and headed up to the control room.

"Hey, Adam. Come with me." Abel walked off towards a room at the back of a dark hallway.

"What's up, bro?"

Abel flipped a light switch on. There wasn't anything in the room except a bunch of old lockers.

"Take your pick."

"…Of a locker?" Adam looked baffled.

"Idiot. It's what's inside the lockers. The trademark of any good leader is a striking look, right?"

Adam opened one of the lockers. Inside was a short black jacket, with red lining and the symbol of Dai-Gurren emblazoned on the back. Sitting on the top shelf of the locker was a pair of shiny, oval shaped sunglasses. Looking at them, Adam was reminded of the familiar pointed red shades that Kamina wore, at least, in Adam's near-death hallucinations, or whatever they were.

"These are pretty badass looking!" He said, slipping on the jacket and twirling the shades quickly in his fingers before flicking them on.

"I thought you'd like them. Leaders of the previous incarnations of Dai-Gurren all dressed like that, so it's only right that you'd do the same."

"Hell yeah!"

"I'll be down in the hanger fixing up Gurren's arm if you need me."

"Alright." Adam nodded as Abel left the room.

After a moment of admiring his own looks in a nearby mirror, something caught Adam's eye. He kneeled down and pulled what appeared to be an old, faded photograph from under one of the lockers. In the picture he could see a bunch of people he didn't recognize and he spotted Leeron, but one person, standing next to a girl with long curly hair, and another with a questionable amount of clothing on, stood out.

"This guy…He looks like he's even younger than me, but…I bet anything this guy is Simon."

Adam carefully folded the photo and stuck it in his back pocket before he left the room, flipping the light switch off as he did.

CH. 19 END

Author's note: And so, we return to our heroes in the present day, Adam receives four new crew members, and we see a slightly modified Dai-Gurren make its return. Not bad for a single chapter, huh? Anyway, for those who are interested, here's a bit of drivel about the four new characters, including information I don't deem important enough to work into the actual story. Just stuff to keep in mind about the characters. Oh, and more bibilical naming! Surprise! Noah, Mary, Ezekial and Jebediah.

Noah

-Is very, VERY, energetic and wild.

-Has a heart of gold and is built like a fortress.

-Wanted to join Adam after hearing about his successes, and witnessing his brazen destruction of the Silver Spiral. He thought it was awesome.

-A little thick, but not quite as much as Adam himself.

Mari

-Has very motherly instincts, likes to care for people.

-Is an extremely good cook.

-Isn't combat-oriented, but she'll (unintentionally) slap the guys around when they get out of line, particularly Abel, who has a weakness for pretty girls.

-Orphaned when Beastmen killed her parents, wants to help Adam and co. but doesn't want to kill anyone.

Zeke

-Always, ALWAYS smokes. Always.

-Is kind of a jerk, but definitely one with a soft spot for those he trusts.

-Was Noah's accomplice for a long time before joining Shin Dai-Gurren.

-Doesn't trust Adam, but does trust Eve and Kane, due to their levelheadedness.

Jeb

-A lazy fellow, enjoys milling about and sleeping.

-A communications expert (in case you didn't already work it out.), knows his way around computers quite well.

-Dislikes taking a combat role, but is qualified to fire Dai-Gurren's cannons if need be.

-Liked by just about everybody for his accommodating and friendly personality.

…And that's those four. Don't worry, dear readers. These aren't throwaway crew members. I do intend on making these legitimate characters, as Kittan, Dayakka, the twins, Attenbourough and all the others were in the original series. Er…Maybe not so much Attenbourough though. Anywho, stay tuned!


	20. There Isn't Anything Like That, I Swear!

(Admittedly, I seem to be at a brainstorming stage for the next step in the plot, so I thought this chapter and next would be lighter fare than what we've been doing so far. If you don't mind a bit of silly fluff, read on. If you despise filler with a passion, feel free to wait until Chapter 22 comes out. Jus' saying. Enjoy. I hope.)

Chapter 20

"Mari! I'm starving! When's lunch going to be ready?" Adam called down the hallway to Dai-Gurren's kitchen as he leaned back in his seat.

"I-In about ten minutes!" Mari answered after a moment. "Please be patient!"

"You idiot, she's doing her best and you're pestering her." Eve swatted the back of Adam's head as she walked by, making him lose his balance and topple to the ground with a yell.

"OW! DAMMIT EVE, YOU DID IT AGAIN!"

"I know, and it wasn't any less funny than the last time I did it." Eve laughed as she left the room.

Noah, who had been sitting across from Adam, was holding back his laughter with great difficulty. Jeb was dismantling a pair of earphones and only looked up when he heard the thud, and Zeke was lighting another cigarette and smirking in the corner of the room.

Adam sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Jeez, you'd think she'd at least show me SOME respect." He muttered, adjusting the silver shades he had taken to wearing on top on his head.

"Why are you acting sour about this now?" Kane walked into the room. "She's been whipping sense into you since day one, right?"

"Well, yeah…But…"

"Just like a-"

"I swear, Kane. If you say what I KNOW you're about to say, we're dumping you off in the middle of the desert."

"Then who would pilot Dai-Gurren?"

"…Touché." Adam muttered in defeat. "Everyone's turning against me today. What is this, a mutiny?"

"Trust me, if we had any interest in mutiny, you'd be tied up, bound and gagged, and tossed in the desert with nothing but a jar to pee in months ago."

"Just a jar to…That's really harsh!" Adam looked appalled that Kane had even brought up the idea.

"Relax, you idiot. I'm only kidding. You're a good leader, even if you're a moron when you're off the clock." Kane laughed, turning and heading back up to the bridge.

"Don't worry about it, Boss." Noah spoke up. "All of us think you're a great leader. Right, guys?"

"Sure, sure, whatever." Jeb was absorbed in his earphone repair, not paying attention to the course the conversation had taken. "Good leader."

"I suppose. Do you really have to act like such a petulant dumbass all the time though? It's not very leader-like." Zeke blew a puff of smoke and glanced at Adam.

"Really? Not very leader-like?"

"Nah. You act like an oaf most of the time. Ever try acting serious?"

"Serious, huh?" Adam considered Zeke's suggestion, and after a moment, dawned a startlingly severe expression.

"What the hell are all of you doing lazing around in here? GET BACK TO WORK, YOU MAGGOTS!" He shouted in a deep baritone.

"…That was terrifying AND out-of-character." Zeke shuddered a bit. "Don't do it again, or else."

"Or else what? I think I like doing this voice! I'm going to do it ALL THE TIME!" Adam continued to talk in the ridiculous baritone.

"Or else I'll tell Eve you took pictures of her while she was in the shower."

"W-WHAT? I DID NO SUCH THING!" Adam snapped back to his normal voice immediately. "DON'T TELL HER THAT! SHE'LL KILL ME!"

"Whoa, boss. Naked pics of Eve?" Jeb looked up from what he was doing immediately. "Mind giving me copies?"

"You skeeze!" Adam stammered. "I didn't take pictures of her! You heard me!"

Suddenly a hatch in the ceiling used for repair access opened up, and Abel's head and shoulders swung down, hanging upside-down from the roof and streaked in oil.

"Yo, Adam. You got some steamy pictures of Eve? Hook me up! We're brothers!"

"A-Abel? What the hell are you doing? And WHY do you-" Adam was growing annoyed and flustered at his subordinates' suddenly foolish behaviour. "Are you some kind of creepy-ass pervert, bro? What happened to you, hanging out with Leeron all those years?"

"Whoa, touchy. Forget I asked then. Keep your filthy, filthy pictures to yourself. Just don't blame me if I 'accidentally' let it slip to Eve that you have 'em."

"W-Wait! This is blackmail!" Adam stuttered. "And for something that doesn't exist!"

"Uh-huh. We get it." Zeke smirked. "They 'don't exist.' Outta sight, outta mind, and all that, right?"

"Shut the hell up! You're the one who put these ridiculous ideas in everyone's heads!"

"B-Boss…Naked pictures, really?" Noah, being a bit slow on the uptake, was only picking up on the conversation now.

"Not you too, Noah…" Adam sighed. "And no, there aren't any naked pictures."

"Nobody likes a liar, Adam." Kane spoke up, having come back down to the dining room. "I'm a bit surprised you managed to get such pictures. Perhaps you ARE capable of being stealthy when you set your filthy deviant mind to it. Color me equally impressed and disgusted."

"Even Kane…?" Adam moaned. "Everyone's turning on me…this is insubordination, goddamnit…"

"What are all of you talking about?"

"N-NOTHING!" The men of Shin Dai-Gurren shouted in unison.

Mari and Eve had appeared, carrying that night's dinner. Upon seeing them, all five of the men in the room turned ghostly white. Zeke's cigarette even fell out of his mouth.

"Probably something filthy." Eve raised a single menacing eyebrow. "If I find out you've been doing anything weird, I'll be forced to use…let's call it, 'execution with extreme prejudice."

"E-Execution…" Adam breathed, in total fear for his life.

"E-Eve, not at meal time, alright?" Mari tried to reason with her. "Fear ruins the appetite, wouldn't you agree?"

"I suppose you're right, but as long as these five haven't done anything wrong, what do they have to be afraid of?" Eve cracked her knuckles in a most terrifying fashion. "Anyway, soup's on, so let's eat."

"Where's Abel?" Mari glanced around.

"He's working on the ship." Adam answered, trying to keep a level head in the face of Eve's threatening presence.

At that moment, the hatch in the ceiling opened up again and Abel dropped down, coughing a little, with his face covered in black.

"Dammit, looks like something's busted. No wonder Dai-Gurren's moving so sluggishly. It'll take all night for me to fix, and I'll need to have full access to the ship, so nobody can sleep inside tonight.

"Camping under the stars, huh?" Adam considered the prospect. "Could be fun, I think."

"Not like we have much of a choice." Zeke murmured, picking up his cigarette off the floor and pouring himself a bowl of the soup Mari had made. "Looks good, Mari."

"Thank you, Zeke." Mari smiled sweetly. "And I think it'd be fun to spend a night under the stars as well."

"Abel thought this might happen, so he told me to pilot Dai-Gurren towards the nearest natural hot spring. We can use the evening to get clean and refreshed, then set off bright and early tomorrow."

"I'm not bathing with a bunch of guys." Eve crossed her arms sternly.

"Let me finish. There's a rock wall straight down the middle of the pool. Only Adam would be stupid enough to try climbing over the wall to do something…unsavoury, and I'm sure even he isn't foolish enough to risk what would happen afterwards."

"Why do you all seem to think I'm some kind of pervert?" Adam snapped.

Eve gave Adam a look that clearly said "do anything perverted and you'll meet a gruesome and violent end."

"So it's settled? We camp here tonight and take off tomorrow?" Kane asked.

"Fine." Eve sighed.

"Jeez…" Adam hung his head, pouring a bowl of soup.

"Heh…Poor Adam." Zeke laughed a bit.

"I have no idea what's going on anymore." Noah stated simply.

"Hm? I zoned out, guys. What are we talking about?" Jeb glanced up. "Still naked pictures of-"

Abel hurriedly slapped a hand over Jeb's mouth before he could finish the sentence, but Eve had already heard the incriminating part.

"What was that? Naked pictures?"

"M-Miss Eve! Not at the dinner table!" Mari stammered, blushing furiously.

Adam leaned back in his chair, slurping back soup and trying to look like he had no idea what on earth everyone was saying.

"Sorry, Mari." Eve smiled a cold smile. "But this subject is just FAR too interesting for me to overlook. You know, guys, the fact that you even MENTIONED naked pictures in my presence is grounds for execution. Now, who started this whole thing?"

"Adam."

"That dumbass."

"The boss man!"

"My little brother there."

"What's going on?"

"Zeke…Wait, WHAT? ME?" Adam coughed as he choked on his soup. "Why are you all turning on me! What did I ever do to you?"

"You know perfectly well what you did!" Abel declared loudly. "Having naked pictures in your possession, and not sharing them with your fellow men, nay, your own FLESH AND BLOOD? THAT IS TRULY A CRIME WORTHY OF DEATH!"

"I'm telling you! There are NO NAKED PICTURES OF EVE! YOU GUYS CAME UP WITH THAT ALL ON YOUR OWN, I-" Adam stopped, realizing that he had just said something that could potentially end his life.

Eve wasn't LOOKING angry, but she was giving off an aura of viciousness that no beastman, giant Ganmen, or any other fearsome thing in the world could match. Mari, meanwhile, had apparently gotten so utterly perplexed and unwilling to hear the conversation that she had simply stopped thinking.

"Adam, come here…"

"N-No, I'd rather not."

Adam stood up immediately, bowing in quick thanks for the food and then tearing off down the hallway. He kept running, choosing to take cover in the captain's cabin, locking the door.

He was just debating hiding under the bed when there was a knock at the door. Or rather, a fist pounded the door so hard that it dented inward slightly.

"Adam, get out here. It's safe. Zeke told me that the whole thing was a practical joke, so I fired him out of the ship's cannon for his poor sense of humor and decided to apologize for jumping to conclusions."

"Y-You WHAT?" Adam shivered.

"I'm kidding, you moron."

"Good…Zeke is kinda nasty, but he doesn't deserve to be fired out of a cannon."

"I meant I was kidding about apologizing. You're captain of a small fleet of Ganmen, you idiot. Start acting like one."

"I- Wait, so you DID fire Zeke out of a cannon?"

"Of course not, don't be stupid. Now come on. Abel wants everyone out of the ship so he can start his repairs, so we're all going to the hot spring now."

Adam opened his door tentatively, and a fist hit the wall about an inch from his face.

"Listen here and listen good." Eve said, giving him a severe look. "Tonight is a test. If you can refrain from acting like a moronic pervert for one night, I'll forget about the whole 'naked pictures' business. If you can't even do that, I promise you, you WILL be executed, got it?"

Adam got a sudden image in his mind of himself being hung in front of a huge crowd. He shivered.

"G-Got it…" He said after a moment. "S-Shall we?"

CH. 20 END

Author's note: Naked pictures. This chapter was about nonexistent naked pictures. I amaze even myself. Well, this marks the 20th chapter in this little yarn of mine. I intend to keep going (moving forward on the path to tomorrow!) with this fic until it reaches its conclusion. Next chapter; this story's equivalent to episode 7 of the original anime. Look forward to it. Unless you hate filler. Then feel free to ignore it. Like I said, 22 is the return to plot development.

-CK


	21. This Wall Is Nothing For A Man Like Me!

Chapter 21

Adam sighed as he sunk into the warm water. The other male members of Team Shin Dai-Gurren had already gotten in when he arrived, though the majority of them looked sulky.

"What are you guys so mad about?" Adam asked. "Oh, well, I can see why YOU'RE mad, Zeke."

Zeke was rubbing his cheek, which looked as though it had been bruised.

"Shut up." He muttered.

"Ha ha, alright." Adam laughed. "Anyway, why are the rest of you looking so down?"

"It's that damn rock wall…" Jeb pointed at the wall running down the middle of the bath. "How the hell are we supposed to see what's on the other side?"

"I dunno what you guys are getting so worked up over. I mean, it'll just be Eve and Mari…bathing…" Adam suddenly pieced everything together. "W-Wait, have you guys learned NOTHING?"

"We're men, aren't we?" Kane was leaning back in the water. "It's the nature of our very existence to attempt to peek."

"K-Kane! Of all the things to be so serious about…"

Kane smirked, revealing that behind his calm and calculating exterior, there was a hot-blooded pervert waiting in the wings.

"Jeez, you three. Noah, you don't care about peeking, do you? Please tell me you don't…"

Noah had sunk almost all the way down into the water, up to his neck. He sighed blissfully, not paying attention to what was happening.

"Of course not…" Adam sighed in relief. "But the rest of you! You should all be ashamed!"

"There's something seriously wrong with you, boss." Jeb smirked. "I mean, come on! The girls are naked just beyond that wall! You can't blame us for wanting to take a look, can you? You ARE a man, right?"

"Shut the hell up! I am a man!" Adam stood up. "What, do you want me to prove it?"

Zeke gave a malevolent grin.

"Uh, sure. If you want to prove your manliness, climb up that wall and tell us how the girls look." He said in a low voice. "And don't get caught, or else we'll all end up in hot water."

"…Was that supposed to be a pun?" Adam tilted his head. "You really suck at telling jokes, Zeke."

"You gonna climb the wall or not?"

"Go for it, boss." Jeb gave Adam a thumbs-up. "I'm rooting for you."

"Jeez, am I the only adult one here?" Kane murmured. "Sure, it's alright to talk about it, but what do you think Eve's going to do to all of you when you get caught?"

"Er…" Adam's imagination ran wild with gruesome images. "Maybe I'd better not…"

"What do you mean when 'you' get caught, Kane?" Zeke glared. "If we get caught, you're going down with us."

"I think not." Kane pounded a fist on his chest. "See these scars? I've had to deal with way worse than what Eve can dish out. You could slam Gurren's fist into my chest and I wouldn't feel a thing."

Jeb dunked Kane's head under for a moment. He let him pop up on his own, coughing and swearing.

"Quit being such a blowhard." Zeke said, looking annoyed. "Jeez, is everyone in this group a moronic braggart?"

"No, one is just an enormous jerkass." Adam turned and began stealthily moving towards the wall, grabbing one of the towels sitting by the water as he passed and wrapping it around his waist.

"H-Holy crap, you're actually going to do it?" Jeb raised an eyebrow.

"I figure, it'd be manly to get a look and get destroyed later, but it'd be even manlier to get a look and not get caught, am I right?"

"Perhaps I underestimated you." Zeke looked slightly impressed.

"Watch my back."

"Watch your back? What for?" Kane laughed. "It's not like we're going to get attacked by a beastman while we're bathing, right? Nobody's luck is THAT bad."

"Just watch my back! I command you!"

"You're something else, Adam. Something else…" Kane rolled his eyes. "Trying to get a look at your future bride while she's indecent. For shame!"

"Y-You…! SHUT THE HELL UP- I mean…Shut the hell up with that marriage junk!" Adam shouted, but quickly caught himself and lowered his voice.

Kane simply laughed, waiting for what he assumed would be a greatly amusing sight.

"Here I go."

Adam, having climbed over canyons for months during his time alone in the desert, easily clambered partway up the wall, almost halfway to the top when he heard what sounded like the middle of a conversation between Mari and Eve.

"…I'm surprised. The boys are being really quiet."

"They're probably doing something weird, like comparing the size of their-"

"E-Eve! They're not doing that…are they?"

"Relax, I'm only kidding. But it wouldn't surprise me. Even still, I'm actually surprised there haven't been any attempts at peeking yet."

"P-Peeking?"

"Perhaps the guys heeded my warning. If I catch any of them trying to see us in here…"

There was a loud thud, presumably as Eve punched the wall. The high stone formation shook slightly, and cracked a bit at the top.

"Eve, will beating up the person peeking really solve anything?" Mari could be heard asking.

"Oh, I'm not only going to beat up one person if I catch them. If I catch one, they ALL get a beating." Eve had raised her voice loud enough to be heard by everyone on the other side of the wall, not just Adam.

All five male members of Shin Dai-Gurren froze, Adam included. They all turned deathly white at Eve's words.

"H-Holy crap, ALL of us…?" Jeb whispered.

"That's what she said…" Kane murmured. "This isn't good."

"What happened to you and your 'Gurren's fist can hit my chest' nonsense?" Zeke climbed out of the bath, picking up a rock. "Nevertheless, we need to get Adam down from there."

"This is bad, bad, bad…" Noah muttered. "What are you doing with that rock, Zeke?"

"I'm gonna throw it at Adam. If I knock him off the wall, we won't get caught, right?"

Adam, meanwhile, had frozen up on the wall. He was too scared to move in case Eve suddenly heard him or he slipped. Suddenly something hard hit his back.

"O-OW! WHO THE HELL IS THROWING STUFF AT ME?" He shouted loudly. "I'M TRYING TO-!"

"Adam, you friggin' dumbass!" Zeke snapped. "Do you WANT to get us killed, you idiot?"

"Hey, Mari, did you hear that?" Eve's voice could be heard again. "The guys are making a lot of noise. I'll be right back. I'm going to check on them."

"Oh shi-" Adam panicked and began sliding down the wall as quickly as he could. "Crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"Adam, get the hell down here NOW!" Kane gestured to the ground wildly.

Adam's feet touched the ground and he began running before taking a massive dive into the water.

"Hey, keep it down in there!" Eve's voice came ringing from the entrance to the side of the bath that the men were on. "And if I find out any of you have been doing anything weird…"

"W-We're not doing anything!" Jeb called. "Just…y'know, bathing!"

"Hmm…Well, I'm sure Kane is making sure none of you do anything perverted, so I suppose I shouldn't worry."

Adam's head popped up from under the water, gasping for air. All four of the other guys looked at Kane as soon as Eve mentioned his name.

"They're not doing anything, Eve!" Kane called out casually, but his expression was one of nervousness. "We're all just about to get out…RIGHT?"

"Y-Yeah!" The others said almost simultaneously.

"If you say so…" Eve's voice trailed off as she went back to her own side of the bath.

As soon as they could be sure she was out of earshot, all five men sighed shakily, silently agreeing that it was time to get out of the bath before they ended up getting themselves killed.

Later, Adam was lying on his back watching the stars. The rest of the guys had passed out, presumably from the combined stress of being around Eve and Mari without giving themselves away, and their own feverish imaginations.

"Yo, Adam." Abel appeared, leaning over Adam and grinning, smeared with grease and oil. "Looks like you're still in one piece, so I guess your time in the bath was alright?"

"Oh, would you be quiet?"

"Relax. I'm complimenting you. I mean-"

"Something about being able to see the girls in the bath without getting caught, right?"

"Yeah, right. As if." Abel laughed. "I mean, you're a good guy. Noble and all that. It takes a lot of willpower to handle a situation like that. And anyway, you're not exactly stealthy, so there's no way you'd get away with peeking and survive."

"Jeez, I figured that compliment was going to be backhanded." Adam grumbled.

"Fine, you want a real compliment, huh? Okay, you're a true leader. We may make fun and pull jokes on you, but that's only because your reactions are priceless. It has no bearing on our opinion of you as the head of Shin Dai-Gurren."

"Really?"

"Yeah, we all know you're going to kick General Granze's ass when you finally meet, and we're all looking forward to seeing it firsthand."

"Wow, that means a lot. Thank you."

"No problem. Anyway, I should get back inside. Break's over." Abel turned and headed back towards Dai-Gurren. "Oh, and Adam? I'm proud of you, and I'm sure that if Mom and Dad could see you now, they would be too."

"You think so, huh…?"

Adam recalled his father. The man was a lot like Adam himself, but more mature, similar to Abel. Despite that, he could always be found with the same silly grin that Adam and Abel sported when they were in a good mood, which was often. Adam's mother was more of a distant memory, as she had died when Adam and Abel were still young. She was an introverted, quiet woman, but she had a kind heart. One day after Zeke, Noah, Jeb and Mari had joined Dai-Gurren, Adam had found that Mari reminded him of his mother, which made her easy to talk to.

"Dad and Mom, huh? I wish they really could see me now."

MEANWHILE, AT NEW TEPPELIN…

"Sire, the humans have found Gurren. What shall we do?"

"Tsk, it would seem Viral failed. No wonder he hasn't returned yet." General Granze's low voice carried throughout the chamber.

"It would seem that the human's army is growing in number. They'll undoubtedly attempt to assault New Teppelin eventually."

"Of course. That's what they're working towards. If you're only going to tell me things I already know, then don't bother wasting my time. Let's see…I think it's time we reacquaint the humans with Pai. Is he available?"

"Yes, sire. Shall we send him out?"

"No, I want to talk to him first. Bring him here."

"R-Right away, sire."

The beastman servant hurried out of the room, returning shortly with the spider-like beastman Pai in tow.

"Granze. Mission?" Pai asked simply.

"Straight and to the point. Very good. Yes, I want you to kill the humans, but be aware, they have obtained Gurren."

"Understood. Won't be easy. However, Pai doesn't fail."

"If I recall, you failed the last time." General Granze retorted. "See to it that you do not fail me this time, or I'll make sure to crush you like a bug."

"Will not fail. Will not fail."

"Excellent. Oh, and if you happen upon Lieutenant Viral in your travels on the way, tell him that he has one more chance to redeem himself in my eyes. He has failed to kill the humans' leader twice now, and I'm only giving him one more chance."

"Viral. Understood."

Pai turned and skittered out of the huge chamber.

"It would seem that with every battle, we get closer and closer to the final confrontation. Perhaps I'll meet this human face-to face after all. If that should happen, I will enjoy destroying him, as slowly and painfully as possible."

Granze let out a cold, booming laugh that caused every attendant in the room to shiver slightly.

CH. 21 END

Author's Note: And so ends Adam's epic quest to avoid getting obliterated by Eve for perverted behaviour. Admittedly, the chapter ran short, which led to the paragraph about Adam's mother and father, a relatively untouched subject thus far. Writing these two chapters was fun, but still, there won't be a lot more filler unless I hit another roadblock. All in all, what I'm happiest with is the brief anime-continuity gag I snuck into this chapter. Did you spot it? Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter.


	22. We'll Continue On Our Path To Victory!

Chapter 22

The sun was beating down in a particularly brutal fashion. Living in the desert, Adam had learned to expect hot days but this was too much. On top of that, he was piloting Lagann, which had turned into a pressure cooker. The others were all inside Dai-Gurren, and it was Adam's turn to scout ahead for beastmen, towns, or anything else of interest.

"Ugghh…Why do I have to do this?" Adam whined to himself. "Everyone else gets to hang around in Dai-Gurren and I get stuck out here in this damn inferno…"

He tossed his jacket off, but it didn't help much. He was still sweating like a pig mole and his messy hair was sticking to his forehead. He reached for his canteen, desperate for water. It was less than half-full, which meant he would have to conserve.

"Yo, boss. You hanging in there?" Jeb's voice crackled over the fairly new communications system that he had installed in Lagann. "It must be pretty hot out today."

"You have NO idea…" Adam groaned, taking a sip of water. "Why am I the one tromping around out here? I'm the captain!"

"You moron." Eve's voice suddenly cut in on the comm. system. "You know full well that Lagann is the most spiral energy-efficient Ganmen we have. On top of that, you're the best at piloting it out of all of us."

"I guess…What am I supposed to be looking for again? All I see is sand, sand and more sand."

"You're supposed to be keeping a lookout for beastmen. We just need to tough it out until we get through this portion of the desert. Can I ask you to go on ahead? If it's like you say and there's nothing around, then it wouldn't hurt for you to check out what's over the dunes to the north."

"I guess so…But…It's hot!"

"Quit your whining, you're a man, aren't you?" Eve snapped, and the comm. line was cut.

"Eve? Eve! Dammit, she did it again…She keeps shutting off the communicator any time I start to argue a point…"

Adam sighed in aggravation and turned Lagann to the north, sprinting over a large sand hill. As it hit the top, Adam's sweat-soaked hand slipped off the controls, causing Lagann to lose its footing and roll down the hill, landing at the bottom and sinking into the sand a bit.

"Ah hell…" Adam groaned, climbing out of the tiny Ganmen. "Now I have to dig you out of here. Sorry about that, Lagann…Wait, I'm talking to machines again! Dammit!"

Adam dug at the sand, trying to keep his mind off the sweltering heat. Lagann had sunk into the sand pretty deep, and by the time Adam was close to freeing the machine from the sand, he had forgotten how long he had been digging. It was only when he felt a slight tremor at his feet that he snapped back to attention.

"What the hell was that?" He murmured. "An earthquake?"

He waited a moment, and felt another tremor. And then another, and another. It was as though something was underground and getting closer by the minute. All at once, something blasted towards the sky out of the dunes, not far from where Adam was standing.

"Is that a…?" Adam squinted as he looked to the sky, putting his sunglasses on. "Holy crap, that's a massive Ganmen!"

It certainly was. The giant eight-legged machine soared through the air, touching down in the sand and sending a massive wave of dust in all directions. Adam shielded his face from the dust, and then looked up in awe at the menacing figure towering over him.

"This isn't good…!" He frantically began tearing at the sand around Lagann's legs in a desparate attempt to get it out of the sinkhole. "Come on, COME ON!"

"Apprehending Lagann and pilot." A voice flatly stated from inside the massive spider-shaped Ganmen. "Arache mk. 2, ready for attack."

"Arache mk. 2…Oh, dammit, it's this guy again! The one who tried to blow up Sisao!" Adam scrambled into Lagann when he believed he had gotten the machine unstuck.

"Apprehending." Arache lifted one of its eight gigantic legs in an attempt to stomp on Lagann.

Adam shoved Lagann's controls forward, breaking into a run. Unfortunately, Lagann had been facing towards the titanic Ganmen before it, and tore directly into the maze of massive metal pillars that were its legs. Lagann ducked, weaved and rolled around the legs as they attempted to crush it, Adam in a state of sheer terror all the while.

He mashed at the comm. button as he attempted to manoeuvre Lagann through the shadowy forest of Arache's legs.

"Eve, Jeb, somebody, come on! PICK UP! A Ganmen showed up, and that guy we fought at Sisao is driving it!" He yelled at the comm. speaker. "Send everyone out NOW! I need backup! This thing is huge!"

"We just caught sight of it!" Eve responded promptly. "Abel is on his way with Gurren, and Noah and Zeke are coming as well! Just hang on for a minute!"

"I dunno if I can last that long! This thing keeps trying to step on me!"

"Apprehend. Apprehend." The flat voice droned from Arache.

Adam finally skidded out of the dark area under Arache's massive body, turning just as the giant machine leapt into the air, slamming down into the sand again and disappearing.

"I-It went underground, huh?" Adam mused. "It's probably trying to catch me by surprise…"

Adam wasn't sure what to do, so he didn't move. Suddenly Lagann was lifted into the sky at high speed as Arache shot up from under the dunes, directly underneath where Lagann had been standing."

Adam did his very best to hold on and maintain Lagann's footing, and for the most part, succeeded. The little Ganmen only wobbled slightly as the giant machine beneath its feet.

"Huh, I expected this to be a lot more devastating…" Adam murmured once Lagann regained its balance.

He had spoken too soon. All of a sudden, multiple slots opened up in Arache's hull, and over a hundred fragile looking spider-shaped ganmen, each even smaller than Lagann, swarmed out of the slots.

"W-What the hell is this!" Adam yelled. "These things are too small to be piloted, so how are they moving!"

"Foolish human. Hive mind. Mass artificial intelligence." The voice inside Arache responded. "Pai's own invention."

"W-Well, they're tiny! That makes them easy to crush!" Adam engaged Lagann's drills and started ripping apart the tiny machines, but as Lagann's arms swept through the cloud of insects, they latched on.

"G-Get off me!"

"Three…two…one…Explode." Pai's voice announced.

All of the tiny mechanical spiders simultaneously exploded. By themselves, the blasts weren't too large, but the combined force of the hundred blasts, including those attached to Lagann's arm, sent the poor little red Ganmen flying off the top of Arache and crashing into the sand headfirst.

"D-Dammit, that's a filthy trick, swarming me like that…" Adam groaned, cracking his neck. "And now Lagann is stuck again, you cheap bastard!"

Suddenly Lagann was plucked out of the sand and placed on its feet. Abel had finally managed to arrive with Gurren.

"Yo, little brother." Abel's familiar voice rang from Gurren. "How you holding up? I bet you're glad to see me!"

"Damn right! Do you see what I've been dealing with by myself?"

"Alright, alright, just hurry up and combine!"

Adam grinned and pulled Lagann's controls upward, causing it to leap into the air and engage its bottom-drill, spiralling down into the top of Gurren and cementing itself there. Just as it had in Apara, Gurren Lagann's armor spontaneously appeared, along with the red and gold ornate helmet and the massive sunglasses-shaped chest piece.

"Adam! Don't go bringing this thing down without letting us join in the fun!"

Noah's heavy-set Ganmen leapt over one of the sand dunes, the sun shining off its bright orange hull as it made its dramatic entrance.

"Jeez, Noah. Why do you always insist on showboating?"

Zeke's Ganmen, a thin, sleek-looking machine with a glossy black hull appeared, following closely behind Noah's Ganmen. Much to Adam's fascination, Zeke's Ganmen had a set of wheels on each foot, allowing it to cut through the sand as though it was skating.

"Whoa, Zeke!" Adam was grinning widely. "Your Ganmen is cooool!"

"Oh, be quiet. Valkyn is simply designed for mobility over attack strength." Zeke responded disinterestedly. "Noah's Ganmen, Strom, is designed for offense at the expense of mobility. If you were capable of doing the math, you'd figure out that the two of us fight our best when we're working together."

"That's awesome! With the both of you helping, we're definitely gonna win!"

"Overconfident as always, huh? I LIKE IT!" Noah yelled excitedly. "Let's do this, you guys!"

"I suppose we don't have much of a choice." Zeke wheeled Valkyn over the sand in a graceful figure eight. "The size of this thing means it can't move very fast, but could crush each of our Ganmen individually."

"Right, and it's got these little explosive bug things that it can spit out!" Adam added. "So you need to watch out for those."

"Little…exploding bugs? Sounds dangerous." Zeke stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it before taking Valkyn's controls again. "This might actually be fun after all."

"Yo, boss. Got a sec?" Jeb's voice crackled over the comm. system.

"What is it now?" Adam asked, itching to get back into the fight. "Kinda busy at the moment."

"Good news, Eve and Kane are hard at work arming Dai-Gurren's cannons with a salvo of explosives we found in the cargo bay. Give us 10 minutes to line up a shot and we guarantee we can bomb this big guy into oblivion."

"That's great, I think we can manage to stall him that long." Abel piped up. "Those explosives you found are leftovers from Dai-Gurren's battle days, so they'll make a big blast."

"Alright, clock starts…NOW!" Jeb said, shutting off the comm. line.

Gurren Lagann ran towards the massive insectoid Ganmen, Valkyn swept under its legs and Strom slammed into the northeastern leg, shoving a fist right through the outer hull, climbing up a little bit and repeating as it worked its way up to the top.

"Abel, let's go!"

"Got it! Take this!" Abel shoved his controls forward, causing a drill to appear on Gurren's hand, then used it to tear into the nearest leg.

"Whoa, what are you doing, bro? We want to get to the top, right?"

"We're just taking a little detour." Abel laughed as he tore at the outer hull of the leg, opening up a big enough hole for Gurren Lagann to dive inside. "We need to figure out where those explosive bugs are coming from, right?"

"You always did have the best ideas, bro!" Adam grinned widely, flooding a large amount of spiral energy into Gurren Lagann to strengthen its drill, which was tearing through the multiple layers of metal and wires that made up the inside of Arache's leg.

"Unexpected variable. Unexpected variable. Engaging protocol 3.14." Pai flatly announced.

A swarm of the explosive insects flooded down into the leg where Gurren Lagann was brutalizing its way to the top.

"Oh crap! This thing is THAT pressed to get rid of us? It's trying to smoke us out!" Adam yelled. "Got any ideas, Abel?"

"A wise man once said 'all of life's problems can be solved with a drill. When using a drill doesn't work, USE A BIGGER ONE!" Abel shouted excitedly, his hands giving off a bit of a green glow. Another huge drill appeared in Gurren's left hand, and the one in its right grew in size to match.

With the huge drills, Gurren Lagann was able to gain an enormous amount of forward momentum, tearing through the explosive insects spilling downwards towards them. The mutilated remains of the bugs exploded well below Gurren Lagann as it continued to rocket up through the leg, eventually blasting out through the top of the joint attaching the leg to the torso.

"Eight minutes, guys!" Jeb's voice rang from the comm. system.

The gutted leg, burning and unattached from the torso, fell to the ground with a mighty crash. Unlike the battle in Sisao, however, Arache did not lose its balance and topple. This time, the rest of the legs gyrated themselves into a position that allowed Arache to maintain its footing.

"Mk. 1 lacked proper balance. Mk. 2 alleviates balance issues." Pai stated, monotone as ever. "Will not fall. Will not fall."

"Well, if you're not gonna fall, we'll just have to bring you down some OTHER WAY!" Adam shouted as Gurren ran to of the vents that the explosive bugs had been spilling out of.

Meanwhile, down below, Valkyn was weaving around the legs as they tried to stomp on it. On one lap around the legs, it had attached a high tensile cable to one of them, the other end attached to Valkyn's own hand. The sleek black Ganmen did a sort of slalom around the other legs, wrapping the large amount of cable around them as it did. Zeke was not trying to topple Arache. That would be a foolish manoeuvre with him still underneath. He was only trying to hinder the massive Ganmen's movement, in order to prevent it from going underground again.

Valkyn continued to weave around the legs, wrapping more and more cable around them, and then finally slipped out from the dark underbelly of the giant machine, skating over the dunes to a rock formation, tying more cable to it, and then leaping over the rocks and around to another formation in the distance. By this time, the large amount of cable stored in Valkyn's arms was running out. Once Valkyn's snare was set, Zeke slammed one of the controls downward, popping a hidden blade out of Valkyn's right arm and cleanly cutting the cable.

"Let's see you get underground now." He smirked, cigarette still pursed in his lips. He clicked the comm. button. "Hey, Noah. We're engaging the snare manoeuvre. Care to give me a hand?"

"Damn right! I LOVE the snare manoeuvre!" Noah responded happily.

He swung off the leg he was tearing at, touching down on the ground with a mighty thud. The heavy Ganmen started running to the elaborate length of cable underneath Arache's legs.

On top of Arache, Adam and Abel had agreed silently on what their next move was. Gurren Lagann slammed one of its giant drills into an insect spilling vent, detaching it from Gurren's arm, and then ran over to another one of the vents, doing the same with the other giant drill. One large vent opened in the center as soon as the other two were plugged.

"NOT GONNA HAPPEN, BUDDY!" Adam shouted, materializing another truly massive drill on Gurren's hand, this one bigger than the last two.

Gurren Lagann leapt high into the air, slamming downward with the drill straight into the vent, out of which a batch of explosive insects was already attempting to spill out. Unfortunately for the tiny bombs, they were crushed underneath the massive spiralling drill that Adam had created.

"Adam! We're ready to fire! Get out of there!" Jeb's voice crackled over the comm. system.

"Got it! Let's move, guys!"

"Right." Valkyn started skating back towards Dai-Gurren.

"Aww, yeah! This is gonna be AWESOME!" Noah sounded extremely excited, and reluctantly started tromping off with Strom.

Gurren Lagann dove off of the giant Ganmen it had been battling and started running. Arache was trapped. The snare manoeuvre made it impossible for the giant machine to move without getting tangled up in its own legs, and it had nowhere to run when the massive salvo of explosives hit.

Gurren Lagann waited for the giant cloud of smoke to disappear. Much to Abel and Adam's shock and disappointment, only the outer hull of the massive beast seemed to have been damaged.

"We barely scratched it!" Abel griped. "Dammit!"

"Abel, just stop and watch our handiwork for a minute." Adam was grinning for some strange reason. "This is gonna be great."

"What do you mean?"

"Unable to move. Only option; launch entire stock of insect bombs."

"YES!" Adam fist-pumped triumphantly.

"Oh…THIS IS AWESOME!" Abel suddenly realized what was happening.

Arache launched ALL of its explosive insects, directing them out towards the vents at the top of its body. Said vents had already been plugged by Gurren Lagann's very thick drills. The insects had nowhere to go, and there were well over five hundred of the little buggers crawling around inside Arache. Alone, they wouldn't do much. But all bunched together, the resulting blast would destroy everything inside Arache's hull completely.

"Error. Error. Extreme system error. EXTREME SYSTEM ERROR. FAILURE TO VENT INSECTS. FAILURE, FAILURE, FAIL-"

The insects cut Pai's final statement off. The blast was massive, knocking Gurren Lagann over and sending a massive dust wave in all directions. The explosion incinerated everything inside Arache, leaving only a charred husk of metal behind as the titan collapsed into the sand.

"WOOO! We did it!" Adam cheered as Abel directed Gurren Lagann back onto its feet. "Great work everyone!"

"Not a bad plan, I gotta say." Zeke sounded genuinely impressed.

"That was awesome! He blew up from the inside-out!" Noah was excited as always.

"You…Wow. Adam, I'm actually shocked. I think I respect you a little more now." Kane sounded pleased. "You're getting better with every passing battle."

"Second time we fought this guy, and you didn't get yourself blown up this time! Well done, Adam!" Eve sounded quite happy, which was rare.

"You did great, Boss! That was wicked!" Jeb was raving about Adam's success.

"Great work, all of you!" Mari cut in. "I'll make sure everyone gets a big dinner tonight!"

"VICTORY!" Adam cried triumphantly. "VICTORY FOR SHIN DAI-GURREN!"

"You're doing great, Adam! You're moving ever forward down the path of manliness!" Another familiar voice rang, but not from the comm. system. This one seemed to be in Adam's head. "Continue down the noble path, and you're bound to pierce the heavens with your mighty drill!"

"K-Kamina…" Adam sounded startled that he had heard Kamina's voice again. The last time he had seen Kamina, he had been on the verge of death.

"You say something, bro?" Abel asked.

"N-No, nothing."

As Adam and Abel directed Gurren Lagann back towards Dai-Gurren, Adam saw what he thought was a familiar man, wrapped in a red cape. The sunlight glinted off a pair of red sunglasses for a moment, and then the man gave a cheery wave, turning and fading into the desert dunes.

CH. 22 END

Author's Note: And down goes another of Granze's high-ranking henchmen! Adam and Co. are moving ever closer to their final battle, but there's still a bit of time before they'll reach it. Anyway, I hope you're all still enjoying the story so far, cuz I know I'm still greatly enjoying writing it. Stay tuned for more!


	23. It's All Gone! All Of It!

Author's Note Part Uno: Well, well, well, look who came crawling back to the fic. I know, I know. I didn't update all summer. But unfortunately, between coping with summer illness and a 2-month long existential crisis, I simply couldn't bring myself to work on the fic. But now that I've put it off for 3 months I'm ready to get right back into it. Please enjoy! –CK

Chapter 23

"So, what's our next move?"

"Adam, you idiot. You're the leader!" Eve smacked the back of Adam's head. "Isn't it up to you to make decisions like that?"

"OW! But you can't expect me to decide on stuff like that all by myself!" Adam rubbed the back of his head.

The members of Shin Dai-Gurren were all seated at the dining hall table. It had been a few days since the team had brought down Arache, and they had been using the time to relax. This evening they had just eaten, and had determined that they were all well rested and ready to plan for the immediate future.

"You're not that good at planning, are you?" Zeke murmured, lighting a cigarette. "The choice is clear. We should boost Shin Dai-Gurren's forces, or else we won't have much of a chance when the time finally comes to take on General Granze."

"That is an excellent point." Kane nodded. "However, I feel like we should stop by a settlement soon, if we can. We need to resupply, and perhaps we may find someone to join us there."

"If we're going to hit up a settlement, I need parts." Abel piped up. "Dai-Gurren is old, and she requires a ton of maintenance to keep up and running smoothly."

"These are all excellent suggestions." Eve nodded. "Adam?"

"…What?"

Smack.

"OWW!"

"Pay attention to your team members, you fool!"

"Why the hell do you keep hitting me?" Adam griped. "I was listening! I was listening! I think it's a good idea, heading towards the nearest settlement. Now quit beating me up!"

"When has telling her to stop ever actually worked, Adam?" Kane asked, smirking.

"Shut up, you…!" Adam growled.

"This team is a riot!" Jeb said, leaning back in his chair and laughing. "Our boss is such a-"

Adam was sitting next to Jeb, which made it quite easy to sweep a foot under the chair leg Jeb was leaning back with. Jeb toppled to the floor with a yell.

"Such a 'what?'" Adam asked Jeb menacingly, cracking his knuckles.

"Such a wonderful leader and…stuff?" Jeb rubbed the back of his head.

"Good enough." Adam crossed his arms and turned back to the rest of the group. "So it's settled. We'll head towards the nearest settlement as soon as day breaks."

"And in the meantime, I have a suggestion." Kane grinned. "Tonight, we unwind with a few drinks!"

"Hell yeah!" Abel threw an arm around Kane. "You and I think on the same wavelength, my friend!"

"I found a few bottles in a crate. Seems like premium stuff to me. Who's with me?" Kane looked around.

Adam looked uneasy, Eve looked disapproving, Mari looked unwilling, Jeb looked eager, Zeke looked amused and Noah looked unaware.

"Come on, Adam!" Kane raised an eyebrow. "You're never going to become a man if you can't handle a little liquor."

"Sh-Shut up!" Adam shouted. "I'm totally a man, in fact, I'd go so far as to say I'm a badass! And I'm sick of you and the others trying to say I'm not!"

"Then prove it. We'll have a drinking contest. Tonight. If I win, you admit that you've still got a way to go before you're a worthy leader. If you win, I'll acknowledge that you're the manliest person on the team."

"You're on!" Adam said without considering the consequences. The most important thing had been put on the line; Adam's pride.

A little later in the evening, Adam and Kane sat across from each other at the table, a bottle and two glasses between them. Adam glared at his opponent, who gave him a grin.

"Ready, boy?"

"Oh yeah. I'm gonna drink you under the table." Adam looked determined.

"Uh, Adam…?" Abel leaned against the wall, twirling a wrench in his fingers. "You've never had a drop of alcohol before, right? Be careful."

"Relax, Abel. I know what I'm doing." Adam's glare didn't stray from Kane, who was pouring the drink into the glasses.

One glass slid towards Adam.

"Bottoms up." Kane urged. "And Adam, I want you to know. I've never been beaten in a drinking contest. Not once. It's not too late to give up and admit defeat."

Adam shook his head, pounding back the clear liquid, and wincing.

"GAAHH, THIS STUFF BURNS!" He coughed. "B-But I'm not quitting!"

Kane topped off Adam's glass and swallowed all of the drink in his own in one gulp, letting out a hearty sigh.

Adam took the glass and drank, wincing and coughing again. It was going to be a long night…

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

Hours later, Adam and Kane were both completely red-faced, tipping back in their chairs and proclaiming things rather loudly.

"A-ADAM!" Kane shouted, slurring his words. "YOU…YOU'RE GONNA WIN AGAINST THAT…GENERAL GUY! I KNOW IT!"

"HELL YEAH, I'M GONNA WIN, YOU…YOU GEEZER! GIMME ANOTHER DRINK!"

"YOU'VE HAD…WAY MORE THAN ENOUGH!"

"N-NO! I'M GONNA WIN, OLD MAN!"

"I'M NOT AN OLD MAN!"

"This is hilarious…" Abel laughed, yawning. "But man, it sucks that I have to supervise you two. If you drink yourselves to death, it'll be on me."

Adam and Kane continued to yell and eventually sing, and as they drank, it became apparent that a winner would be decided soon. Eventually the chairs leaned back further, and further. The two drunken men hit the floor.

"Whoa, okay. It looks like they're just about done. Now, who passed out first…?" Abel studied the two of them. "Oh…no way! They're both asleep! It's a draw!"

Abel took the bottle and glasses off the table, took a sip straight from the bottle, and tossed the glasses in the sink as he left the dining hall, heading off to bed.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

The next morning, the trip to the nearest settlement was delayed until the late afternoon, due to Adam and Kane both having massive hangovers.

"You two are so STUPID!" Eve had reprimanded Adam and Kane very loudly when she found them collapsed on the floor the next morning. "Are all men a bunch of alcoholic layabouts?"

"Why are you so damn loud this morning?" Adam groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"She's always loud. Why should this morning be any different?" Kane grumbled and rolled over.

Adam was rewarded for Kane's comment with a hard kick in the ribs.

For the next couple days, nothing relevant happened. Adam and Eve argued, Kane piloted Dai-Gurren to the north under Eve's orders, and Abel kept the ship in working order. After a brief stop at a quiet settlement and more boring days of travel, the group reconvened to discuss where their next destination was.

"Well, I'm sure you're all wondering why we're heading north, right?" Eve crossed her arms seriously.

"We're heading towards the Northern Plateau, right?" Kane looked uninterested, polishing his blade as he spoke. "There's a small town of human guerrillas up there. We're likely to find somebody daring enough to help us fight."

"Exactly. However, the Northern Plateau isn't like the other places we've been so far. It's quite far away and it's not arid and sandy. It's much colder, with icy winds and snowy hills." Eve continued.

"…Snow? What's that?" Adam raised an eyebrow, looking curious. "I've never heard of it before."

"Oh, wow. It never ceases to amaze me how sheltered you are, Adam." Eve smirked.

"Actually, I've never seen it either." Abel spoke up.

"Me neither." Zeke twirled his lighter in his fingers.

"Um…I can't say I have either." Mari smiled sheepishly.

"I have." Jeb scratched his stubbly chin as he yawned. "It's cold and stuff, you know? It kinda blows."

"Snow is cold!" Noah simultaneously stated the obvious and repeated what Jeb had just said. "Cold and wet!"

"Yeah…Yeah, it is." Jeb laughed.

"Anyway, it's going to be cold up there. I took the liberty of buying warmer clothing when we last stopped. And Abel, have you finished the preparations I asked you to do?"

"Uh…About that…"

"Good!" Eve smiled. "With solid non-stop travel, we'll reach the Plateau in another week."

"Awesome! I can't wait to see snow!" Adam was positively giddy. "This is gonna be so badass!"

"It's just snow, brother. It's like cold sand, right?" Abel smirked.

"It's more like…huh…" Jeb scratched at his stubble some more. "Cold…sand, I guess. Damn, I was hoping to sound smart."

The members of Shin Dai-Gurren laughed and talked about the upcoming location late into the night, then began their travels again the next day, not stopping for the entire week. As they got further and further north, the sky went from clear and blue to cloudy and gray.

Adam stood on Dai-Gurren's deck, his pigmole-skin coat flapping in the frigid wind. His breath came out in white puffs as he grinned enthusiastically. Tiny snowflakes fluttered past, occasionally landing in Adam's hair and melting.

"Yo, Adam. You're still up here?" Abel's head poked through one of the deck's large vents, his face smeared in grease. "You look pretty happy standing around in the cold…"

"Nope! I'm FREEZING." Adam laughed, a bit bitterly. "But I can't go belowdecks. Eve's on a rampage again."

"She caught you trying to peek at her in the shower again?"

"No, she- Wait, what? I've never done that!"

"Sure, sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself, bro."

"Shut up. Anyway, she's pissed about something, and I don't want any part of it, so I'm hanging out up here until she cools down."

"Want me to tell her to come up topside? I bet being out in this kind of weather would cool her down. Ha ha ha!" Abel laughed at his own terrible joke.

"Not funny." Adam said, still grinning.

"Then why are you smiling?"

"My face is frozen."

"Frozen?"

"Frozen."

"Frozen, you say?"

"Shut up, you heard what I said." Adam tried to look annoyed, but it was difficult with his trademark grin stuck on his face.

"You might want to go back inside. You'll get sick…" Abel climbed down into the vent, twirling a wrench and whistling.

Adam was about to consider heading indoors when Kane's voice crackled over the loudspeaker system.

"Everyone, we've reached the Northern Plateau. Now, the outpost we're looking for should be due north from here. It's called Obrechennyi Outpost, according to Eve."

Adam rustled in his coat pocket, pulling out a pair of fairly junky binoculars, looking through them. At first all he could see was the snow whistling through the air, but after a few minutes of lurching forward, Dai-Gurren got close enough that Adam could make out a faded sign in the distance.

"Obrechennyi…" Adam muttered. "Hey, that's the place! But…what the…?"

The buildings in the distance became easier to see as Dai-Gurren approached. They looked very black and decrepit, and it looked like flecks of ash were intermingling with the snow.

"What in the…?" Adam rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

When he was sure he wasn't imagining things, Adam scrambled down belowdecks and called down the hallway to Kane.

"Kane! Bring 'er closer, as quick as possible! I want to get a closer look at that outpost!"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

Adam's boots crunched through the snow as he ran towards Obrechennyi. He was freezing, even with his coat on, but he didn't care. He was growing more and more panicked as he got closer to the small group of buildings. Ashes were drifting through the air along with the snow.

"Adam, slow down!" Eve called, lagging behind as she wrapped a striped scarf around her neck. "You're going to collapse in this cold!"

Adam ignored her, soldiering on through the bitter winds, ash and snow, stopping to catch his breath only once he had reached the entrance to the outpost. The buildings were in ruins, some razed to the ground. Adam could see glimpses of bodies, trapped under debris, riddled with bloody holes, or otherwise torn up by something sharp. Adam averted his eyes, feeling the bile rise in his throat.

"Adam, why didn't you wait for…Oh my god!" Eve looked horrified as she stopped next to Adam. "What…what happened here?"

Adam couldn't find any words. His eyes darted around, searching for somebody, anybody who survived this horrible incident. He couldn't find anyone who wasn't dead, mangled, shot or burned, or any given combination of the four…At least, not until his eyes turned to the center of the outpost.

A lone, huge figure stood amidst a sizeable group of corpses. Blood was dripping off the figure's hand. Adam took a step forward on instinct, and the figure turned his head to see who was there.

"Well, well, well…" A smooth, deep baritone that instantly put Adam on edge floated from the figure standing in the center of the outpost. "It looks like my hunch was right, hmm?"

"You're…you can't be…"

"General Granze. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. And you, my diminutive hairless rat, must be Adam."

CH. 23 END

Author's Note Part Deux: Wait, WHAT? General Granze? When did this happen? All will be explained next chapter, dear readers, and worry not. The next chapter will NOT take me all summer to write. I thank all you dedicated fans who have waited so patiently for my return to the world of TTGL, and I assure you one more time, THE FIC IS NOT DEAD, PLEASE CONTINUE TO READ AND GIVE ME ACCOLADES. Kidding about the accolades part, but the point still stands.

Oh, in case you were all wondering, Obrechennyi (with an accented I, blame my keyboard) is Russian for "doomed."


	24. The Road To Peace Is A Difficult One!

Chapter 24

"Did you not hear me, human? I am General Granze. Are you too simpleminded to comprehend my greatness, or are you simply frozen with fear?"

Granze sneered as he and Adam stared each other down. Adam couldn't move, aside from noticeably shaking.

"Adam…It's him…" Eve murmured. "He's the one we're fighting against…"

"That's right, little girl." Granze's mouth curled up into a sadistic grin. "And I must say, you and your little band of bothersome heathens has caused me great amounts of irritation."

"W-What are you doing here?" Adam finally choked out.

"Why am I here? I should think it'd be obvious."

"To destroy this outpost…"

"Not quite, although that is part of it." Granze laughed. "I'm here because you are. My troops and I came to the Northern Plateau in anticipation that you would do the same. When we saw that Dai-Gurren was approaching, we razed Obrechennyi Outpost to get your attention."

"You sick bastard!" Eve yelled, taking a step forward. "You'd destroy all of these people just to get us to notice your presence?"

"Ah, but what you fail to understand, my dear, is that the one to blame is your young friend here. Had you never come near Obrechennyi, we would have left it alone. You see, I wanted to teach you a valuable lesson about war."

"It's…our fault?" Adam looked a bit dazed.

"Adam, there's no way we could have known!" Eve shouted. "He's trying to get inside your head!"

"You see, I wanted to show you that in war, there are no laws. There are no rules of engagement, there are no second chances, and there is no such thing as mercy. By opposing my New Beastman Army, you're putting the lives of every single human on the planet at risk. You killed my men, so why shouldn't I return the favour?"

"Adam! Snap out of it and do something!"

"Unless, of course, you offer your own life as a peace offering. Do that, and I promise you, things will go back to the way they were before you started meddling in my affairs. You'll be dead, but it's a small price to pay for the safety of everyone you care about, correct?"

"Adam, COME ON!"

"I…My own life…?" Adam could feel a lump in his throat.

"Yes. A fair deal, is it not?"

Adam took a step forward.

"What the hell are you doing? You can't actually be considering this!"

"Shut up…" Adam muttered.

"Adam-"

"SHUT UP!" Adam snapped. "I need to think!"

Eve's eyes widened. She had never seen Adam look so troubled, or so angry.

Adam took another step forward. Everything seemed to be slowing down around him with every slow, heavy step he took. He slogged towards Granze, who was still standing in the center of the wreckage, still a good distance away.

"That's it…Throw away your ridiculous ambition and accept the bitter truth." Granze said in his low, sinister voice. "Surely you must realize that humans are the inferior race, compared to the might of the beastman."

Another step. The snow crunched beneath Adam's boot.

"You opposed us, you oppressed us, you killed countless numbers of our troops. How can you stand before me now and say we don't deserve to be dominant over you violent savages?"

Ashes were still drifting and mingling with the snowflakes in the air. A bitterly cold wind blew into Adam's face, stinging his cheeks, but he didn't care. He was too preoccupied with the jumbled mess of thoughts in his head.

"You, alone, killed one of my greatest pilots, and brought shame to another by sparing him his life after defeating him, not once, but twice! You think you're changing the world, but all you're doing is causing trouble for everyone around you."

Closer and closer, Granze's figure was getting bigger with every couple of steps.

"You're nothing but a warmongering fool who puts his ideals before anything else. You pathetic piece of trash!"

"Yo, Adam!"

"Eve, I said to be quiet…"

"Do I look like a girl to you, bro?" A boisterous, familiar voice.

Adam turned his head. There was Kamina, his red cape flapping in the harsh wind.

"K-Kamina…Where did you come from?"

"That ain't important. Why are you listening to this guy's garbage?" Kamina jabbed a thumb towards Granze, who was still standing idly. "You know he's just trying to bring you down."

"Bring me down?"

"He wants you to lose hope. If you ask me, he's fighting like a coward. A real man doesn't fight by talking down his opponent until they're depressed enough to walk to their doom!"

"Then…how does a real man fight?"

"What're ya, stupid? A real man charges in without fear! If you die, you're dead, nothing you can do about that. But wouldn't you want to go down in a blaze of glory?"

"But…"

"But WHAT? Aren't you a real man?" Kamina tipped his glasses and eyed Adam furtively.

"I'm afraid."

"Of course ya are! I'd be worried if you weren't! We're all afraid to face our greatest challenges!"

"I guess I'm just a coward…"

Slap. Kamina swatted the back of Adam's head sharply.

"You dumbass! It's whether or not you stand up and face your greatest challenges like a man that separates the men from the cowards!"

"Stand up and face them…"

"That's right! Now, are you going to keep on walking and let this bastard end it all for you just like that, or are you going to show him that you're not giving up?"

"I'm…going to show him…!" Adam gritted his teeth.

"And how are you going to do that?"

"…By…BY PUNCHING HIM RIGHT IN THE GODDAMNED MOUTH!" Adam broke into a run, charging towards Granze, who was still talking down to him as though he hadn't noticed.

"That's what I thought! Go get 'im, kid! I'll be rooting for ya!" Kamina gave a hearty wave and disappeared into the flurry of snow that had kicked up.

"Oh…You've decided to give up, have you?" Granze smiled nastily as Adam ran towards him.

"LIKE HELL I'M GIVING UP!" Adam shouted as his fist slammed into Granze's face, causing him to stagger to one knee. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM, SOME KIND OF QUITTER?"

Granze spat some blood into the snow, and then, leapt to his feet, his right arm launching towards Adam's throat.

"Just as anticipated, you're nothing but a pathetic human who doesn't know when to give up."

Granze's hand caught Adam's neck, lifting him high off the ground. Adam struggled and kicked as Granze choked him.

"Very well." Granze slammed Adam into the ground.

Adam yelled in pain as his back hit the icy ground at high velocity. As he struggled to get up, Granze slammed a foot into his stomach, sending him sprawling into a pile of debris. Adam shakily stood up after a moment, throwing off his tattered coat. He could feel blood trickling down his back and his stomach felt like it had exploded, but he gritted his teeth again and charged at Granze.

Granze responded with a hard swat, knocking Adam to the ground again. Granze stomped down on his back as he struggled to get up.

"Why do you keep charging at me, you fool?"

"Because if I don't, WHO WILL?" Adam snarled, wriggling in an attempt to get out from under Granze's huge foot. "Nobody! Nothing will change if I don't fight against you! We'll all just go on, fighting and fighting and fighting! It won't end unless I force it to!"

"Did you not hear what I said, human? I told you that if you sacrificed your own life, I'd spare the rest of your pathetic race!"

"And then what? Somebody else will get the same idea as me later on down the road, come fight you, and you'll tell him the same thing? You're just a smug bastard who enjoys toying with those you think are inferior to you!"

Granze's foot pushed down on Adam's back even harder. Adam could feel his ribs being pressed further down. Any more force and they were liable to snap.

"I'm…" Adam winced in pain. "I'm going to be the one to break out of this endless cycle of death and destruction, and bring peace to both humans AND beastmen!"

Granze laughed sadistically.

"You're insane! Humans and beastmen aren't equal! There is one superior to the other! That is the way it has always been and it'll never be any different!"

"Humans and beastmen ARE equal! We're all living beings, right? It's just scum like you that are the problem!"

"You really believe that you can make everyone happy with your idiotic ideals, hmm?" Granze's voice went back to its original low smooth baritone.

He leaned over, grabbed Adam by the hair and looked him dead in the eye.

"Listen, you little hairless monkey. If you want war, you've got war. I'll give you one year to prepare yourself. At that time, I'll fight you again. And believe me, I will not be as merciful as I have been today."

"Heh…" Adam spat a bit of blood in Granze's face. "You're pretty confident, you big ugly bastard."

"But know this. Upon victory, I plan to destroy every human settlement I can find. Know that if you lose, your entire race will die as punishment." Granze smiled nastily. "Unbeknownst to you hairless rats, I have an elaborate network of missiles that detect spiral energy and home in on it. Given that every human settlement is a mass of untapped spiral energy, I think you can imagine what will happen if I launch every missile simultaneously, hmm?"

"You're a twisted son of a…Urk!" Adam could feel a sharp pain in his gut as he winced.

Thump. Granze dropped Adam to the ground, letting him fall to his knees.

"One year, human. Six months, and then I launch the missiles, wiping out your kind for good. When you are ready to confront me, I shall be awaiting in New Teppelin. Do you need me to draw you a map, you stupid monkey?"

"I think I'll be…d-dammit!" Adam couldn't stand up. He was sure something had ruptured but he didn't know what.

"The clock is ticking, human. I recommend you being your preparations immediately. You have a difficult battle ahead, and a year will go by just like that."

Granze turned and began walking into the snowstorm that had begun around them. Adam continued to make attempts to stand, but couldn't. Eventually Granze could no longer be seen.

"Adam! Adam, are you alright?" Eve and the rest of the Shin Dai-Gurren crew shortly showed up.

"Oh god. He's looking really bad. Help him up." Abel lifted Adam to his feet and slung an arm around him. Kane supported him from the other side as they headed back towards Dai-Gurren. As the group soldiered towards the battleship in the distance, Adam's vision faded and he fell unconscious.

CH. 24 END

Author's Note: A short chapter by my usual standard, I know. But I honestly couldn't think of a better place to leave off than right here. Also, a brief apology for all of you who were expecting an awesome final battle scenario. I'm really not done with this story yet. And who knows? Even if THIS storyline reaches its conclusion, well...Gurren Lagann didn't end at episode 15, right? I'll leave it at that and say no more. Thanks for reading.

-CK


	25. You Idiot What The Hell Is Your Deal?

Chapter 25

A week had passed since Adam had faced General Granze at Obrechennyi. His condition had stabilized, but he was still unconscious. Curiously, it seemed like his internal organs had reformed themselves as he rested, as though his spiral energy was converting itself into tissue matter. This wasn't a huge surprise to anyone, considering Adam had more spiral energy than anybody else in Shin Dai-Gurren. Why shouldn't the excess be able to heal at an accelerated rate?

The rest of the members of Shin Dai-Gurren had been flitting in and out of the medical bay in-between their duties. Eve had been the only one to stay in the room at all times. She insisted it was her duty as Adam's second-in-command, even though Adam had never actually officially declared her such. Nobody else called her out on it. The mood around Dai-Gurren was fairly somber and quiet without Adam charging around and shouting nonsense.

On one particular day, Eve was leaning against the wall, idly watching Adam's heartbeat on the beeping monitor. There was a creak as the old door slid open and Zeke slouched in. He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and stuck it in his mouth, but failed to light it before his eyes met with Eve's disapproving glare.

"You're the closest thing we've got to a doctor on this ship, right? So, you should know smoking is bad for you, idiot."

"Well, I COULD stop smoking any time. But I won't, since it clearly irritates you, and that's just funny." Zeke lit the smoke as he looked Adam over. "Looks like Captain Dumbass is recovering well."

"…Captain Dumbass? He's unconscious and you're still insulting him." Eve rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me how to do my job, alright?" Zeke swatted the side of one of the monitors as its display flickered. "And he IS a dumbass. Runnin' into a fight with Granze without any backup. Jeez…arrogant jerkoff."

"You don't like Adam at all, do you?"

"Nah, I do…I guess." Zeke said after considering Eve's words. "It's not like I hate him. He's just not the kind of guy I get along with. Loud and obnoxious."

"You get used to it. I certainly did." Eve watched the smoke twirl and loop into the air as it wafted out of the cigarette and Zeke's mouth.

"I can tell. You two are practically married."

"You all keep saying that, but I really don't understand why."

"Well, you don't beat someone up constantly like that unless they're really special to you." Zeke explained, sounding bored as always. "You two are always bickering and arguing, but there's some kinda synergy between you two that the rest of us don't have."

"Synergy? You don't know what you're talking about."

"I do. My parents were the same way. They argued in the same way you two do, but you could see the affection in their eyes when the dust settled."

"Affection? Are you implying that I have something like that for Adam?"

"I don't need to imply, sister." Zeke smirked. "I bet if you thought about it a bit, you'd find that Adam's more than just your superior."

Eve thought for a minute, and the room was silent except for the beeping of the heart monitor.

"He's…a good friend." She said after a long moment, nodding as though she was agreeing with herself. "I mean, he's kind, and he's kind of amusing, but…I can't see it being like you say."

"You forgot that he's good looking."

"Oh yeah…He's…Wait, no!" Eve averted her eyes angrily, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "I didn't notice! Shut your mouth! Stop laughing!"

Zeke had doubled over in laughter, a strange sight for the usually stoic man. His cigarette even fell out of his mouth, hitting the floor.

"Oh, man. I dropped my smoke." Zeke took a deep breath, wiping a tear from his eye. "Jeez, seeing you blush like that. It was so…weird. It's like you're a girl or something."

"You idiot. I AM a girl." Eve furrowed her eyebrows.

"Really? That short haircut threw me off." Zeke picked up his cigarette and threw it out, lighting another as he headed towards the door.

"Zeke…You mentioned your parents, right?" Eve changed the subject as quickly as she could. "Where are they now?"

"Dead."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"It's real easy to say you're sorry when something isn't your fault, isn't it?" Zeke mused. "It doesn't really matter. They died when I was a kid, along with the rest of my village. It got attacked by a bunch of beastmen, and nobody except me made it out alive."

"That sounds a lot like how I lost my father."

"That's where you and I differ. You resent the beastmen for killing your dad, right? I can't say that I do. I mean, we all do things we regret to survive."

"I…Suppose that's true."

"I was never one to hold a grudge. And before you go sayin' that my attitude was brought on by the beastmen killing my folks, I'll say this. I never had much tolerance for stupid people, so I soak my words in sarcasm to keep me sane."

"You're an odd one, Zeke." Eve smirked. "And what do you mean 'stupid people?' Are you calling me stupid?"

"Well, by my standards…yes."

"What do you mean, 'your standards!'" Eve demanded.

"Oh, my IQ is 128."

"That high? So you're some kind of genius? Wow, I never knew. No wonder you're so skilled with all this medical equipment."

"Well, I worked with a doctor for a long time after my parents died. I guess you could say he was my guardian, so I figured I'd learn the medical trade to help him out."

"Impressive."

"Whatever. I'll be back to check Adam's readings later." Zeke left the room with a lazy wave.

Eve turned back to look at Adam after the door shut.

"Crap…he IS kind of good looking." She muttered. "When he isn't being an energetic moron…"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

Another three days passed before Adam woke up. One would expect that with him awake, things would go back to normal, loud and chaotic as they had been before Dai-Gurren had reached the Northern Plateau. However, this didn't seem to be the case. Adam had healed just fine, but he seemed to be in a pensive, serious mood, completely unlike his usual boisterous self.

"How does your chest feel?"

Zeke was prodding at Adam with a silver instrument during a check-up a few days after he had awoken.

"It's fine." Adam muttered. "Nothing hurts."

"You've been pissy ever since you woke up. What's wrong?" Zeke inquired. "You're acting like a total asshat to just about everybody."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. You wander around the ship all day, not talking to anybody unless they ask you something, and when they do, you give a sharp one-word answer. Everybody's worried."

"I'm fine. Really."

"Adam, come on. I'm not stupid."

"…How are we going to win?"

"What?"

"HOW ARE WE GOING TO WIN?" Adam snapped loudly. "You tell me how we're supposed to get enough people together to fight Granze in just a year! HOW?"

"What in the HELL are you babbling about?"

"I got my ass kicked out there! He beat me half to death without breaking a sweat, and he's going to destroy all of humanity if we don't defeat him in a year!"

"A year? Destroy humanity? Adam, you must be delusional."

"He's got some kind of spiral-energy seeking weapon that he's going to launch at every human settlement if we don't win within a year's time!"

"Hmm…That's pretty bad. But that still doesn't explain one thing…"

"What's that…?"

Smack! Zeke swatted Adam across the face, quite hard.

"Just who in the hell you think you are. The Adam I know isn't a moody little bitch. He's a loud, obnoxious moron who charges around everywhere, shouting random nonsense about manliness and winning! You know what your problem is? You think this is just YOUR battle! You think that it's up to you to beat Granze all on your own! Well, let me tell you something, jackass, you're NOT ALONE. You've got all of us, and the entire human race on your side! We don't follow you because you're powerful, and certainly not because you're smart. We follow you because we know that you'll see this battle through to the end! SO QUIT YOUR WHINING AND MAN THE HELL UP, YOU FRIGGIN' MORON!"

Adam sat stunned at Zeke's outburst. He had never seen Zeke raise his voice, let alone get as worked up as he had just done.

"Zeke…"

"Yeah? What is it?"

"You…HIT ME! You jerk! That hurt!"

"There's the dumbass we all agreed to follow." Zeke muttered. "Now get out of here. You're the picture of perfect, stupid health."

"Jeez. And here I thought you actually cared about me for a second." Adam said as he put his jacket back on.

"I care about results. If you're going to keep acting like a brooding dick, I'm out. You can drop me off at the next settlement. But if you're planning on…I don't know. Gathering more people to fight, something like that, I'll gladly follow."

"Heh…You're such a jerkass, Zeke."

"I've certainly been told so enough times."

Adam gave Zeke a trademark grin, then turned and left the medical bay.

**Meanwhile, at New Teppelin…**

"Are the modifications finished?"

"Yes, my lord. They're ready to move out at any time."

"Excellent. We shall wait for the next opportune moment, then strike again."

"Sire, if I may…?"

"What is it, peon?"

"Two inquiries."

"Inquiries, hmm? Very well. I will graciously answer your questions."

"The first. You gave the humans a year to prepare and confront you, correct? So why are you preparing to attack them again?"

"Simple. I gave them a year to prepare. I never specified that I wouldn't continue to wage war against them and their filthy kind."

"Ahh, cold and calculating as always! An exemplary leader you are, sire!"

"Yes, yes. And your second inquiry?"

"You told the young human about the Spiral-Seeker. Or rather, you told him you had a salvo of spiral-seeking missiles."

"Yes, what of it?"

"We both know that the Spiral-Seeker is actually a-"

"YOU FOOL! I told you never to speak of the Spiral-Seeker's true shape or mechanics! Do you WANT to die?"

"N-No, Sire! Please, no! I simply wanted to know why you're giving the humans a year. Why let them live when you could destroy them all?"

"Two reasons. One, the Spiral-Seeker needs preparation. The longer I allow it to 'warm up' as it were, the wider an area it'll cover when I activate it. If I allow it to warm up for a year, I can hit the entire span of the planet in one fell swoop."

"And the second reason?"

"Well, I believe that letting the hairless rats run about, attempting to gather a force to beat me, and then getting to crush that little thorn in my side personally will…be rather fun. Wouldn't you say?"

"F-fun…? Y-yes, sire!"

"Now! Go and fetch me Viral. I have something I wish to discuss with him."

"Of course, Sire!"

As the soldier ran out of Granze's dimly lit throne room, Granze leaned back, going over the events at Obrechennyi in his mind. His low, sadistic laugh carried around the room as he recalled the beating he gave Adam.

"Only a matter of time now." He murmured.

CH. 25 END

Author's Note: A chapter based around Zeke? Whaaaaat? I dunno. As I was writing it, Zeke just kind of became the character in focus while Adam was comatose. And then proceed to make HIM the one to tell Adam to man up. No fighting this time, but I promise there will be some action next chapter. Look forward to it! Oh, and by the way, it's the 25th chapter! Milestones!

-CK


	26. If You Want A War, You've Got One!

Chapter 26

"So what's our next move, Adam?" Kane asked as he took a sip of water.

The Shin Dai-Gurren crew was eating their dinner as they planned out their next course of action. Over the course of Adam's recovery, they had gotten as far away from the Northern Plateau as they could, and had gone back south into familiar territory.

"We're going back to New Jiha." Adam said firmly. "We need more allies, and I can't think of a better place to find them."

"Wow, I'm impressed." Eve raised an eyebrow. "You're actually acting like a leader for once."

"It's weird, boss. Did Granze really knock that much sense into you?" Jeb asked.

"I think it's admirable…" Mari said quietly.

"He's still a dumbass, if you ask me." Zeke said, aloof as always. "Where's my lighter?"

"Don't smoke during dinner, okay, Zeke?" Mari asked politely.

"Why can't I smoke at the table?" Zeke demanded.

"The smell makes it difficult to eat." Noah piped up as he shovelled food into his mouth.

"We're getting off topic, people." Kane spoke up. "I think going back to New Jiha is an excellent idea. We're not going to win against Granze with only seven people and three Ganmen, two of which don't get much use..."

"Exactly what I was thinking. We're gonna show Granze that we aren't going down without a fight!" Adam grinned.

"That's our commander!" Noah laughed. "Even if he gets stomped he gets right back up and fights again!"

"Damn right!" Adam laughed along with Noah.

"Well, if we get some more ganmen, I'd be glad to keep them in tiptop shape." Able scratched his chin. "It's my job, after all."

"Then it's settled. We'll head out in the morning. From here, we should reach New Jiha in a few days." Kane picked up his cleared plate and walked out of the room.

The next few days were spent as days usually were. Adam wandered around Dai-Gurren restlessly, Eve reprimanded him for little things, Kane piloted Dai-Gurren towards its destination, Abel fixed whatever needed to be fixed. It was only once they got close to New Jiha two days later that things began to pick up.

Adam was making his usual rounds around the ship when he passed by Jeb's radio equipment, which was hissing and buzzing with the noise of static. Jeb had leaned back and fallen asleep in his chair, headphones slung around his neck.

"Jeez, he fell asleep again? Doesn't he EVER do work?" Eve suddenly appeared behind Adam, her arms crossed and her lips pursed in annoyance.

"E-Eve!" Adam yelped. "Don't sneak up on me like that! I thought you were a beastman!"

Thwack! Eve gave Adam a sharp disciplinary punch in the back of the head.

"Do I look like a beastman to you, idiot? And how would a beastman sneak onboard Dai-Gurren without anyone noticing?"

"N-No…Sorry."

"Anyway, Jeb always dozes off and leaves the equipment on and we have to listen to the sound of all that static through the vents. It's really annoying…" Eve muttered as she walked over to the radio equipment.

As she reached over to shut off the crackling radio, a sharp sound suddenly emitted from the speakers. It sounded almost like a man's scream. Eve and Adam both jumped back slightly at the sound, and Jeb stirred only slightly, not waking up. After a moment a panicked voice started shouting over the radio's tinny speakers.

"Come in! Come in! Anybody, anybody at all! We're under attack! The beastmen are attacking New Jiha!"

"Beastmen?" Both Adam and Eve moved closer to the radio.

"We need backup! Our ganmen are strong, but they're too great in number for us!" The voice continued to plead. "If anybody is available, please respond!"

Eve leaned over and pushed the switch crudely labelled 'Talk' with a piece of tape. Jeb had tried to make his equipment as user-friendly as possible.

"Can you hear me?" Eve calmly spoke into the microphone sitting on top of the radio's console. "This is Eve, second-in-command aboard the Dai-Gurren. We'll be there as soon as we can!"

"D-Did you say…Dai-Gurren? THE Dai-Gurren? The rumors are true! The ones that defeated a bunch of Granze's lieutenants were you guys, right?"

"Yes, yes, that's us. Now calm down and try to keep your city from burning down until we get there, alright?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

Static again. The voice on the other end had disconnected. Eve turned to Adam, looking serious.

"This sounds like a trap. Granze is trying to bait us into a fight by attacking the areas where he thinks we'll be."

"If he wants me to kick his soldiers' asses again and again, I'm more than happy to oblige." Adam grinned, cracking his knuckles.

"Adam. Let me pilot Gurren." Eve said abruptly.

"But…what? You?"

"What's with that look? Is it...because I'm a girl?"

"What? No! Don't hit me!"

"Idiot, I'm not going to hit you."

"I'm not saying I don't want you to. It's just…I don't want to see you…er, any of my team getting hurt."

Eve averted her eyes, feeling her cheeks get hot. She stormed out of the room, punching Adam in the shoulder roughly as she passed.

"OW! You said you wouldn't hit me!"

"That was before you started saying I wasn't a girl!"

"I never said that! You're so-"

"Come on, jackass. We've got a city to save." Eve's words were harsh, but she was smiling in a determined way.

"R-Right!" Adam ran after her, rubbing his stinging shoulder.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Noah, Zeke, you two are taking your Ganmen out as well." Eve ordered. "We'll need all the firepower we can get."

"Right! I won't lose!" Noah nodded.

"This is such a giant pain in the ass." Zeke grumbled, blowing a smoke ring. "That bastard Granze is making us waste time."

"Granze isn't the issue right now. We just need to fight off however many beastmen he's sent into New Jiha." Adam twirled his core drill in his fingers as he spoke. "If we help them out, maybe they can spare a few fighters in the upcoming battle against New Teppelin."

"Adam, I tuned up Gurren Lagann. It shouldn't burn as much spiral energy when you're fighting anymore. Just be careful. You already know both machines are really old. It takes a lot of work to repair them, y'know." Abel was wearing a welding mask on the top of his head and holding a torch as he spoke.

"Right, I'll be careful."

"And you, Eve. Don't go doing anything reckless, regardless of what happens. Adam wouldn't…well he's right here. I shouldn't say."

"Whatever. I'll be careful." Eve nodded, disregarding Abel's vague allusion.

"Zeke, Noah. Do you remember what we talked about the other night?"

Both Zeke and Noah nodded.

"What are you two grinning about?" Adam raised an eyebrow. "Something awesome?"

"You could say that." Zeke chuckled. "Perhaps you'll get a chance to see what it is during the fight."

"Yeah! It'll be great!" Noah smiled widely.

"Alright then! Shin Dai-Gurren, MOVE OUT!" Adam shouted.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

Gurren Lagann, stormed across the dusty rocks dotting the path to New Jiha. Even from a fair distance away, the fighting could be seen. Much to Adam and Eve's surprise, there seemed to be hundreds of small Ganmen clashing with each other, rather than the dozens the two pilots had pictured.

"There's so many…Are we really charging headlong into this?" Eve wondered aloud.

"Having second thoughts?" Adam's voice rang over the in-cockpit comm. system.

"Don't be ridiculous. This is just the biggest battle we've seen yet!"

"I know! I'm getting more excited with every passing moment!"

"Adam." Zeke's voice piped up, a relayed message from his black, sleek Ganmen, Prophet. "Noah and I are going on ahead. Try not to die, alright?"

"Going on ahead, Adam! Good luck!" Noah spoke from his stocky, heavily armoured machine known as Arkk.

"You two be careful! Don't do anything stupid!"

"Please, who do you think you're talking to?" Zeke's smug tone cut out with his parting words.

"Those two…" Eve muttered.

Adam and Eve charged Gurren Lagann right up to New Jiha's wall, encountering very little resistance. A number of small scout-type Ganmen attempted to rush the large red machine, but were swatted aside like flies. Gurren stuck an arm out, creating a drill that bore into the wall, then proceeded to do the same with the other arm, alternating as it climbed up the side of the wall.

Once Gurren reached the top, Adam stopped, stunned by what he was seeing. Ganmen on both sides were charging into each other, firing shots, clashing with swords, and occasionally exploding. Some buildings were burning, but the city was still standing.

"Good god, look at all the fighting!" Adam exclaimed. "This is horrible!"

"H-Hey! It's Gurren Lagann! I can't believe this!" A stranger's voice shouted from one of the nearby Ganmen. "We're totally gonna win now!"

"W-What? Gurren Lagann!" A nasty, sharp voice, clearly belonging to a beastman snarled. "Granze wants those guys dead! I'm gonna get a BIG REWAAARD!"

A spindly looking Ganmen charged at Gurren atop the city wall. Gurren waited as the Ganmen drew closer, its owner's voice wailing in triumphant rage as it got closer. At the last second, Gurren swung a drill covered arm into the center of the spindly attacker, causing it to instantly explode.

"Sorry, buddy. Sneak attacks aren't cool." Adam murmured. "Come on, Eve. Let's get down there and see what we can do!"

"Right!" Eve said as the two of them sent Gurren leaping down into the fray.

Scrap was flying two and fro as Gurren Lagann charged across the city streets. Ashes rained from the burning buildings, which the non Ganmen-using citizens were working valiantly to put out. Every couple of minutes, a beastman would rush at Gurren Lagann or fire a shot or two, but Gurren was being fuelled by Adam and Eve's combined determination, which meant that any attackers were easily shoved off and any firepower was deflected with a drill used as a makeshift shield.

"There's so many!" Adam said. "I know Abel said that Gurren Lagann's spiral energy consumption had been cut down, but all this constant defending is really tiring."

"I know, I'm feeling it too." Eve responded as she swung Gurren's arm out, swatting another aspiring attacker aside.

"And…it's kind of boring! I want to fight a real opponent!"

"REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGED." A booming, monotone voice rang from overhead.

"What…the hell...?" Adam tilted Lagann's head up, looking at what had suddenly cast a shadow over the battlefield.

Three formidable looking Ganmen dropped from the sky. One was somewhat thin and lanky, one was huge and burly, and the third looked extremely familiar.

"No…WAY!" Adam shouted when he saw the familiar white Ganmen, now looking like it was made of some sort of sleek, liquid metal.

"Good to hear you haven't forgotten me, Adam of Shin Dai-Gurren!"

"How could I ever forget a pain in the ass like you, Viral? You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Keep running that mouth, human!" Viral retorted. "You're wide open when you're taunting!"

The sleek white Ganmen dashed towards Gurren Lagann. It moved in an eerie fashion, as though it was coated in rubber.

"You've got a funky Ganmen this time, Viral!" Adam said as Gurren threw a punch. "But you forgot your swords this time!"

"I do not need my blades, not yet, anyway! Eiken mk. 3 is fully prepared for any situation!"

Eiken 3 leapt back, backing off from Gurren Lagann.

"Retreating already? What are you, scared?"

"Of course not!" Viral laughed. "I'm simply following orders. These two will be your opponents!"

Eiken gestured to the two differently sized Ganmen that were flanking its sides.

"Enke! Malyro! Execute attack protocol 45!"

"Wait, Adam!" Eve spoke up. "Enke and Malyro were those two beastmen we fought at Sisao, remember?"

"…Uh, no."

"You're such an idiot!"

"EXECUTING ATTACK PROTOCOL 45." The monotone voice droned from the huge Ganmen as it charged towards Gurren Lagann.

Lagann dove out of the way of the giant machine, avoiding getting tackled into a building, albeit only narrowly.

"What's with these guys? They sound like robots!" Adam shouted.

"They've been modified." Viral coolly explained as Eiken 3 stood idly. "Granze could take no more of their failures, so he destroyed their minds and reworked them into mindless killing machines."

"What? THAT BASTARD!" Adam screamed angrily. "WHAT THE HELL IS HIS DEAL, HURTING HIS OWN TROOPS LIKE THAT?"

"Adam! Watch out!" Eve yanked the controls to the right and made Gurren dive roll as Malyro's thin mech attempted to rip Lagann right out of Gurren's body.

In an instant, something knocked the slender Ganmen aside, suddenly ripping it cleanly in two in an instant.

"What the…?" Adam looked at the dust cloud that had kicked up in the struggle. "Who is that?"

"I can't tell either!" Eve moved Gurren's arms in an attempt to clear the dust.

"Awww, that hurts, Adam." A sardonic, familiar voice said. "You really know how to treat a friend."

"Yeah! You really do!"

The dust settled, and there stood what could only be described as a acrobatic looking, yet well-built black Ganmen with yellow accents. It was wielding a long, pointed lance, which had bits of wire and metal stuck to it now.

"What do you think?" Zeke's voice asked from the new Ganmen. "Abel modified our Ganmen so that they could combine with each other. Thought it might be a big help. I guess he was right."

"He was right!" Noah sounded exuberant as always.

"That thing…is AWESOME!" Adam shouted.

"EXECUTING ATTACK PROTOCOL 46!" Enke's monotone voice buzzed.

"Alright, Adam. You take on Viral! Noah and I are going to take care of this piece of crap over here. We're going to show him just what Arrk-Prophet can do!"

CH. 26 END

Author's note: Fighting and combining and ship-teasing, oh my! This chapter was tricky to write, since I hat to figure out where I was going with the story next, so I figured I would drop a huge battle for you guys and bring back some familiar faces, along with letting Zeke and Noah get their time in the spotlight. As always, thanks for reading, and also for putting up with my silly plot twists!

-CK


	27. I'll Distract Him, Run Like Hell!

Chapter 27

Adam charged Gurren Lagann into Eiken 3, sending the two Ganmen through one of the city walls and out into the surrounding wasteland. Once they were gone, Zeke and Noah turned Arkk-Prophet to face Enke.

"Well, Noah, you ready?"

"You know it, Zeke!"

"We've been through a lot of difficult battles before, but this guy is pretty big. I didn't want to say anything in front of Adam and Eve, but this fight could be our last."

"That won't happen! We're gonna win!"

"Heh…Nothing fazes you, eh?"

"EXECUTING ATTACK PROTOCOL 46!" Enke repeated.

"Let's go, big guy!" Zeke shoved his half of Arkk-Prophet's controls forward, sending the black and yellow Ganmen into a charge, spinning its ornate lance as it went. Enke swung another fist at Arrk-Prophet, which was easily dodged by the nimble Ganmen.

"Come on, step it up, big guy!" Noah shouted.

"Would you be quiet, Noah? It's enough of a pain in the ass to be fighting this guy to being with. You want to make it harder?"

"This is so boring though!"

"Jeez, nothing gets you hyped up like battle, huh?"

"Damn right!"

"Oh, look at that. He's attacking again." Zeke smirked.

With a simple shove of the controls, Arrk-Prophet slid low, avoiding the incoming fist. Zeke attempted an attack with Arrk-Prophet's lance, but the weapon didn't even make a dent when he jabbed the hand.

"Goddamn, that's some thick armor." Zeke muttered. "This could be a problem."

"You got that right!" Noah agreed.

"If we can't damage him ourselves, mobility is the only option we have...OH CRAP!"

A massive foot swung into Arrk-Prophet's back, sending it flying through a nearby building. After a couple moments, Arrk-Prophet got up, somewhat battered by the unexpected attack.

"See what happens when we get careless, Noah?"

"S-Sorry…" Noah rubbed his head.

"Jeez, what a friggin' pain in the ass…" Zeke muttered, irritated. "But I just got an idea on how we can beat this guy…"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Are you ready, human?" Viral snarled. "This time I don't intend to lose."

"And you think we do?" Adam laughed. "Come on, Viral. We both know how this is going to turn out!"

"Adam, don't get a big head. Remember he's the one who gave you that scar across your chest."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't think I've forgotten." Adam subconsciously ran a hand over his chest where the noticeable scar ran downwards.

"This time, human, I am using the most technologically advanced version of Eiken! The Eiken 3!" Viral laughed triumphantly.

"Shut the hell up and make the first move!" Adam said impatiently. "I wouldn't feel right beating you in one punch!"

"Adam, one punch? Really?"

"Your bragging can only take you so far, human!" Viral said as Eiken began to charge towards Gurren Lagann.

"You forgot one thing, Viral!" Adam shoved his controls forward, materializing a drill on Gurren's right hand and sending at Eiken in a vicious hook.

"Your swords!"

Adam's attack, surprisingly, was blocked. In the same instant that Adam attacked, Eiken pulled some of the strange liquid metal off its arm. The mysterious material formed into Eiken's trademark machete-shaped weapon, and then blocked Gurren's drill right as it connected. Gurren was knocked back by the impact, skidding backwards a few dozen feet and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"W-What the hell was that?" Adam demanded. "You just pulled a sword out of nowhere!"

"Not out of nowhere, you idiot. He formed a blade out of that metal gunk that his Ganmen is covered in…somehow."

"That is correct, female human!" Viral said, continuing to advance towards the off-balance Gurren. "Eiken is covered in a special liquid metal that can form and harden into blades and armor!"

"I have a name, you know…" Eve muttered, irritated by Viral's comment.

"Your name won't matter when you're dead!" Viral yanked another blade out of the liquid metal, and charged forward, aiming for Gurren, rather than Lagann.

Clang! The blades were blocked by two drills Adam generated on the spot, sending Gurren Lagann and Eiken into a deadlock.

"Nice try, Viral! But I'm not about to let you hurt my partner!" Adam shouted.

Gurren's drills began to spin wildly, shattering Eiken's blades and knocking him back. But mere seconds later, the blades reformed on their hilts and Viral charged again.

"What? But I broke your blades!"

"No matter how many times you break them, they're going to reform!" Eve explained hurriedly. "As best I can tell, that's how that liquid metal stuff works!"

"Correct again, female human! As a parallel to your spiral energy that can create something from nothing, Eiken's liquid metal membrane allows my blades to eternally regenerate! In idiotic human terms; YOU CAN'T WIN!"

"MY NAME IS EVE!" Eve snapped.

Eiken charged forward again. Gurren shoved its drills forward again, this time too fast for Eiken to block in time. The drills tore into Eiken's exposed face, sending it staggering backwards. Gurren's two young pilots saw their opportunity at that moment.

"Now, Adam!"

"Right!"

Adam and Eve simultaneously shoved their controls forward, sending Gurren Lagann charging towards the staggered Eiken. Gurren grabbed Eiken's blade-wielding arms, preventing a counter-attack.

"If we can't take out your blades…" Adam started.

"We'll just take your arms instead!" Eve finished.

Gurren tore Eiken's top two arms right out of the machine and threw them aside, moving smoothly into a roundhouse kick, knocking Eiken to the ground.

"Heh…That was easy." Adam grinned widely.

"Clever, human. But did you count on this?" Viral asked as Eiken stood.

"AWW, COME ON!" Adam yelled in exasperation.

Adam's frustration was caused by Eiken's state when it stood. The top two gaping holes where Gurren had torn out Eiken's arms had started spitting out more liquid metal, which was forming into identical copies of the arms it had lost.

"I should have figured that wouldn't work. His Ganmen isn't just covered in liquid metal. It seems to be MADE out of it."

"You're three for three, female human!" Viral charged forward again.

"MY NAME! EVE! MEMORIZE IT!" Eve raged.

"How are we going to beat this thing if he just keeps healing the parts we destroy?" Adam wondered aloud.

"There's an easy answer to that, human! YOU AREN'T!"

"Adam! He's going to charge again!"

Gurren Lagann positioned its drills in a position to block its body again, bracing itself for the charge. But this time Viral was ready.

"That defense will only work once!" Viral shouted.

Eiken shoved one arm forward even though it was a good distance away from Gurren Lagann. The arm formed a spiked shape and suddenly stretched out like rubber, shooting forward at lightning speed, and piercing Lagann right in the eye, directly where Adam was sitting.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"THIS is your brilliant plan?" Noah asked in disbelief.

"Don't you trust me? Keep running!" Zeke shouted.

Arrk-Prophet was dashing across the rocky terrain as Enke's Ganmen chased after it, firing salvos of missiles at the ground around Arrk-Prophet in an attempt to obliterate it and its pilots. The two young men had managed to taunt Enke into following them out of the city and were now being pursued towards the general area of the Dai-Gurren.

"PURSUIT PROTOCOL 36 INITIATED. WILL NOT ALLOW TARGET TO ESCAPE!"

"Yo, Kane, Abel. Are we almost in position?" Zeke asked over the comm. system.

"Just about, by the looks of it. I never thought we'd actually get to use these!" Abel sounded excited.

"Just stay relaxed and keep running in the direction you're going in-" Kane's instructions were interrupted as a stray missile struck Arrk-Prophet's leg, blowing it clean off and sending the Ganmen sprawling into the dirt.

"What the hell happened?" Abel's static-soaked voice crackled over the damaged comm. system, which got damaged when Arrk-Prophet slammed into the ground.

"We lost a leg!" Noah responded. "We're gonna die!"

"Only a couple more minutes and we can fire the cannons!" Abel's voice crackled.

"WE'RE NOT GONNA DIE!" Zeke shouted. "Calm down and listen!"

"Alright, I'm calm…" Noah breathed.

"We'll separate Arrk and Prophet. Most of Arrk's machinery forms Arrk-Prophet's legs, so you'll have to take Prophet and get her back to Dai-Gurren."

"But it's your Ganmen!"

"It'll only fit one of us, which means the other is gonna have to hoof it. And I'm a faster runner than you, so I'm willing to take my chances out there with that thing. I only have to keep it busy long enough for…"

"NO! You're gonna get yourself killed for no reason!"

"Would you shut up about that? If I die, I die. You'd rather that thing followed Prophet back to the Dai Gurren and risk getting our home base destroyed?"

"Then I'll stand and fight!"

"YOU REALLY ARE STUPID!" Zeke shouted. "If you do that then we'll both die! Come on, use your head for once, you big lug!"

"D-Dammit, he's getting closer. Fine!" Noah unlocked Prophet from Arrk, allowing the two to separate into their original forms. Arrk lay mangled on the ground as Noah got into Prophet and started running, leaving Zeke to contend with the enormous advancing machine heading his way.

"You'd better make it back!" Noah shouted. "If you don't I'm gonna be really pissed off!"

"Relax. I'm pretty agile." Zeke started limbering up. "Tell Abel to hurry up and fire those cannons!"

"R-Right!" Noah took off towards the large figure of Dai-Gurren in the distance.

Zeke turned to face the huge mass of metal that was lumbering towards him

"NEW TARGET ACQUIRED. HUMANOID SIZE. PROTOCOL; EXTERMINATE."

"Yeah, yeah. Run your mouth, you pile of crap. But you'll have to catch me first!" Zeke took off in a random direction.

Enke gave chase, firing missiles and machinegun rounds at the weaving and bobbing Zeke as he ran. Zeke had put on a brave face for Noah, but in reality he was absolutely terrified as chunks of land exploded around him, spraying him with dust and small debris.

"J-Jeez…When are those cannons gonna fire?" He muttered to himself after a few minutes of successful dodging.

"Zeke, you there? Noah told us your plan." Kane's voice sounded over the emergency comm. device on Zeke's belt. Adam had insisted everyone take one if they ever got stranded. "We're ready to fire the cannons now! Get down and plug your ears!"

Zeke hit the dirt. In the next couple of moments, he felt three bizarre sensations. First, all sound around him ceased. Presumeably he had gone deaf from the explosion. Second, the ground shook as large pieces of destroyed Ganmen fell all around him. And third, his right leg was suddenly in agonizing, torturous pain.

"K-Kane…" Zeke clicked the 'talk' button on his comm. device. "You read..?"

"I'm here. Are you alright, Zeke?"

"N-Not exactly. Can you come and pick me up? I'm at the wreckage of that Ganmen whose ass you just blew up. Oh…And bring that sword of yours, and a lot of bandages."

"Uh…right. I'll be there shortly."

Zeke managed to lift his head enough to look at his leg, mangled and crushed beneath a sizeable chunk of Enke's Ganmen. He gave a bitter laugh and attempted to light a cigarette, but his hands were shaking far too much to even hold the lighter.

"Figures." He mused to himself as he started to lose consciousness. "I make a stupid suggestion to prevent a friend from getting hurt, and this is how Lady Luck repays me. What a sadistic bitch…"

CH. 27 END

Author's Note: What a busy two days it's been for writing this fic. I wrote a longer, much different version of this chapter originally that ended with Zeke dying trying to save a lot of people from Enke, rather than being caught in the situation he is now, and there was a lot less Adam Vs. Viral action. I decided to scrap that version and come up with an alternative in which Zeke survives, because frankly, he's just started to develop and I can't bear to kill him off. He's grown on me. Anyway, thanks for reading, as always.

-CK


	28. Get Ready For The Final Blow, You Guys!

Chapter 28

"Adam!" Eve screamed as Eiken's spiked arm pierced Lagann's eye.

"Such a shame." Viral said condescendingly. "I had hoped that you would put up a better fight. However, my personal mission is now complete."

Viral retracted the spike as sparks flew out of Lagann's shattered eye. Eiken turned and started to stomp away.

"W-Where are you going?"

"What?"

A drill suddenly tore into Eiken's back, the force of it knocking the Ganmen forward.

"You think you can kill the leader of Shin Dai-Gurren? You only hit my arm, you idiot!" Adam, bleeding heavily from his left arm, was using Lagann's controls with his right. "Now I'm going to obliterate that big ball of gunk you call a Ganmen!"

"Grr…YOU FOOL!" Viral shouted angrily. "Haven't you already figured out that my Eiken is invincible? Every part of it you destroy will simply regenerate!"

"In that case, I'll just destroy it ALL AT ONCE!" Adam retorted loudly.

"WHAT?" Viral snarled disbelievingly.

"…What?" Eve raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"IT'S TIME TO SHOW YOU WHAT THE HELL I'M MADE OF!"

Adam shoved Lagann's control's forwards, forcing the machine into a run towards Eiken, which was in the middle of tearing the drill out of its back.

"DIE, HUMAN!" Viral managed to yank the drill out of Eiken's back, stabbing it through Gurren's left arm, causing it to spark and jerk erratically, damaged beyond use.

"We're down an arm, Adam! What are you doing?" Eve shouted, yanking Gurren's controls in an attempt to arrest control from Adam. "There's a line between daring and stupid!"

"If there's a line, Shin Dai-Gurren will cross it! If there's a wall, we'll climb it! And if there's a war brewing, you sure as hell know we're going to WIN IT! Viral, I hope you know, THIS IS IT!"

"AAAADAAAAM!" Viral screamed in fury, driven to near-insane rage by Adam's continual luck.

"This is for all the people in New Jiha whose homes your troops have destroyed, all the lives General Granze has ended! THIS IS THE MANIFESTATION OF HUMANITY'S NEVER-SAY-DIE SPIRIT!"

"A special attack?" Eve wondered aloud.

"Eve! Funnel all of your spiral energy into Gurren Lagann!" Adam shouted. "We're going to hit him one final time!"

"R-Right!" Eve's hands and Gurren's controls began to glow bright green as she forced all of her spiral energy into Gurren.

"Viral! I want you to remember this moment! The moment when I strike down your ultimate weapon with my own! Keep this in your mind until the next time we meet! I want you to give it your all next time! GIGAAA…."

"WHAT! How are you…?" Viral attempted to launch both arms towards Gurren Lagann, but Eve was ready this time. Evading both of the strikes as Adam prepared.

"DRILLLL…!"

For a moment before the attack launched, Adam could see the faces of all of his friends and allies up to this point, culminating in Kamina's grinning visage.

"Break, Adam! The final strike!" Kamina's voice sounded in Adam's head.

"BREAAAAAKER!" Adam shouted loudly, the entire cockpit illuminated by a bright green flash.

Gurren Lagann raised its working arm, and a drill appeared on the hand, as usual. The drill immediately grew to immensely larger size, and started spinning wildly as Gurren Lagann charged forward at its target.

"This is…unbelievable!" Eve muttered.

"I…INCONCIEVEABLE! That ATTACK!" Viral was incapable of moving, in awe of the gigantic drill barrelling towards Eiken.

The drill slammed into Eiken, whirring and spinning wildly. Globs of liquid metal flew out of the spot the drill struck. As the drill went, it increased in velocity, glowing the same bright green that Adam and Eve had seen in the cockpits, more and more metal flew off into the air, being burnt up into nothing by the massive amount of Spiral Energy being generated. After a couple moments of drilling, Adam's gigantic, slightly insane grin grew a little bit wider.

"GIGA DRILL IGNITION!" He screamed triumphantly.

The gigantic drill detached from Gurren's arm, and Gurren jumped backwards a few hundred feet. The drill glowed brighter and brighter, forcing Adam and Eve and Viral alike to shield their eyes, until finally the weapon exploded in a gigantic spiral-green fireball. Every little piece of liquid metal was blown off Eiken's frame, vaporized by the megaton of spiral energy that the blast generated. When the dust cleared, all that remained was a charred, spindly frame, barely holding together after the blast.

Viral had been launched from Eiken by the blast, but was still alive. He was battered, somewhat singed, and clearly in no condition to continue fighting, but he was still alive. After a moment, he shakily stood, ripping the comm. device from his uniform's collar.

"All units…retreat." He snarled, before slamming the device to the ground and stomping on it in frustrated fury. "You win again, Adam. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into with this war."

"Adam, did…you just kill Viral?"

"No way. He's totally still alive. A little blast like that isn't enough to kill a hardened warrior like him."

"A…little blast? You moron…" Eve shook her head, exasperated and relieved at the same time.

"Hey, look! The Ganmen are retreating from the city! I guess we won!"

"Just like that? Are you sure it's that easy?"

"Come on, lighten up…" Adam grumbled. "Now, let's head back to Dai-Gurren. My arm…REALLY hurts."

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Whoa, Adam! What did you do to Gurren? Jeez!" Abel shouted when he saw Gurren's arm. "This is gonna take weeks to fix!"

"Hey, I have bigger problems!" Adam retorted. "What about MY arm? Where's Zeke? I need him to put some bandages on this!"

"Uh…" Abel looked awkward.

"…What's wrong?"

"Maybe you'd better go see for yourself. He's in the medical bay."

Adam rushed down to the medical bay to find Zeke. When he arrived, he couldn't see the familiar, slouching figure in the white coat. Instead he found Mari, looking worried about something.

"Yo, Mari. We're back. Where's Zeke?"

"Um…He's…"

"As you can see, I kind of need medical attention." Adam pointed sheepishly at his bloodied arm.

"O-Oh, my! Doesn't that hurt badly?" Mari rushed over to Adam. "Here, here. I'll put some gauze on that."

Mari carefully wrapped gauze and bandages around Adam's wound. Adam remained quiet the whole time, and then decided to speak up afterwards.

"Mari…What happened to Zeke? Last I checked, he's the doctor on this ship."

"Well…" Mari hesitated. "Maybe you'd better see for yourself. You're going to find out anyway."

Mari led Adam to one of the rooms.

"…He got hurt?" Adam looked grim. "Will he recover?"

"In…In a sense." Mari looked as though she was about to cry.

She then opened the door, showing the relatively empty room. Zeke was unconscious, lying in the bed. Adam turned noticeably pale when his eyes scanned over the sheets. The shape of only one leg could be seen under the white cover.

"He lost a leg?"

"Yes. His leg got caught under a huge piece of metal and he had to amputate it to survive. It looks like he's resting now…"

"Yo, Adam." Zeke sat up in the bed after a moment.

"Y-You're awake!" Mari stammered.

"What, were you watching me sleep or something?" Zeke grinned slightly.

"N-No!"

"Jeez, Zeke. You're sure taking things well."

"I guess you noticed my right leg? Or rather, noticed my lack of one."

"Yeah…"

"Wipe that mopey look off your face. It's just a leg, alright? Jeez, you're just as bad as Noah. Constantly apologizing, like it's his fault…"

"I'll leave you two to talk…" Mari bowed and hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

As soon as Mari had disappeared, Zeke sighed in relief, digging in his pocket and taking out a cigarette and his lighter.

"She refuses to let me smoke while I'm recovering." Zeke muttered. "Or at least, until I'm out of bed."

"It'll be pretty hard to get around."

"You idiot. Your brother's working on building me something he calls a 'wheelchair.'"

"The hell is that?"

"Presumably, a chair with wheels on it."

"…"

"Don't give me that look. You're acting like you pity me."

"I…kind of do."

"Well don't. I lost a leg, but I'm still alive. I could be dead right now. If that piece of metal had landed further, it would have been right on top of my head. In fact, the whole thing has shown me that it's time for me to retire from being a Ganmen pilot and focusing on improving my medical skills."

"You're already a great doctor."

"Heh…You say some stupidly obvious things, Adam."

"Ahh, shut up. Want me to leave you alone?"

"Well, if you must. I just know that Mari will come in here and start doting on me when you do, though…jeez, it's embarrassing."

"She's just worried about you."

"Well, I suppose. She, Jeb, Noah and I travelled together for a while before we met you. She's always acted like the team mom, even if she is a bit meek. It's quite admirable, really."

"Am I hearing hints of some attraction towards her?" Adam grinned.

"Shut up, you jackass. That's only funny when I do it to you and Eve." Zeke flicked the used cigarette out the open window and muttered in a low voice. "And it's not even that funny anymore now that she's actually considering the idea…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Get out."

"What? But you just said-"

"OUT."

"Fine, jeez…" Adam stomped out of the room, hiding a smirk as he did so.

**Meanwhile, at New Teppelin…**

"What do you mean, my forces are retreating!" Granze demanded.

"Sire, Lt. Viral gave the order! We had no choice but to comply!"

"It would seem he has gone missing in action as well sire. We found the destroyed remains of Eiken 3, and he was nowhere in sight."

"Are you certain he isn't dead?"

"He gave the order to retreat, and then his comm. device cut out!"

"He destroyed his comm. device to prevent us from contacting him. This is quite the turn of events. Send a batch of scouts to hunt for him, and when you find him, bring him back here!" Granze shouted.

"And sire, with regards to the attack, we failed to raze New Jiha before the retreat order was given. It would seem that the citizens are…displeased with our actions, to put it lightly. To the point of rebellion, I fear."

"Excellent."

"Excellent, sire?"

"Yes! We did not seek to destroy New Jiha. Only to intice them. We've baited them into fighting back. Now my game can truly begin."

"Your…game, sire?"

"You see…Being the immortal, unstoppable ruler of this dustball has grown dreadfully boring. The appearance of this Adam child and his Shin Dai-Gurren have presented the perfect opportunity to spice things up with a game of life and death. Gambling with pathetic human lives makes things so…interesting. The game will culminate in either the Spiral-Seeker's launch, or defeat for me…And do you know why I like my odds?"

"Why is that, sir?"

"In the many, many years I have lived, worked and ruled, I've never lost a game once. The last time, it resulted in the delightfully unique desert the world is now."

"Wasn't that when the prototype Spiral Seeker backfired, sire?"

"YOU FOOL! IT WAS INTENTIONAL! Now, leave my chamber, immediately."

The soldier kneeling before Granze stood up, knees shaking, and ran out of the room as fast as his legs would carry him.

CH. 28 END

Author's Note: And round 3 between Adam and Viral comes to its conclusion with a Giga Drill Breaker/Ignition, a member of Dai-Gurren is crippled, and we discover Granze's motivation for genocide, plus SHIP TEASING! Not bad for 1600-some words. Anyway, brace yourselves for a batch of new characters next chapter! I'm excited and I hope you are too. Thanks for reading, all!

-CK


	29. We Need All The Allies We Can Get!

(Hello there, dear readers. I apologize for the brief delay, but a week ago I fell victim to an enormous computer crash that required me to send in my laptop for repairs. Alas, some things couldn't be salvaged from my burning wreck of a hard drive, and the original copies of chapters 1-28 are lost to the ether. Anyway, all I can do at this point is continue on writing and not dwell on the lost chapters. Worry not, readers. This story isn't over.)

Chapter 29

A couple of weeks had passed since the battle at New Jiha. The Shin Dai-Gurren crew had remained in the damaged city, helping out however they could. This mostly involved hauling around debris, much to Adam's chagrin.

"I hate heavy lifting!" He whined for what seemed like the hundredth time that particular day. "And it's hot out…"

"Quit your complaining." Eve flatly said as she picked up a hunk of rock. "You were the one who agreed to this."

"Aha…A lovely lady shouldn't be subjected to manual labour."

"What? Adam, go inside. I think you have heatstroke. And what's with that stupid accent?"

"What are you talking about?"

Eve looked up. Adam was standing a fair distance away, holding a rock and looking tired. Standing before her was a tan, well-built gentleman, bowing gracefully.

"Uh…Can I help you?"

"Ha ha! So the lovely lady finally acknowledges me. Today is a happy day!" The man smiled, speaking in a smooth manner. "It is like I was saying. A beautiful woman such as yourself should not have to drag these heavy rocks all over the city like a dog."

"Who's this moron…?" Eve muttered under her breath. "I don't have time for this…"

"Now, if the young Miss will allow me to take that debris."

"Why?" Eve raised an eyebrow. "Need to stroke your ego by flirting with every woman you see around here?"

Adam had been watching the exchange, and had stormed off, muttering and cursing, clearly irritated about 'something.'

"Ah-hah. The truth is, I'm what you'd call 'old-fashioned.'" The man said, smiling brightly. "I believe that it's a man's place to do the heavy lifting and a woman's to-"

CRACK! A sizeable chunk of debris hit the man in the face, knocking him over. Eve broke another piece of rock off the big chunk she was carrying and got ready to throw it.

"Idiot. What a stupid way of thinking. I can take care of myself."

"Ehehe…" The man sat up, his forehead bleeding. "Quite the spitfire. I understand. I suppose I should stop playing around. You're with Shin Dai-Gurren, correct?"

"Yeah, and…?"

The man wiped the trickling blood from his face.

"You got me good there. It isn't often I feel my own blood running down my face."

"Get to the point. What do you want with Shin Dai-Gurren."

"Ah-ha. Thank you for reminding me, my sweet. You see, my…associates and I are interested in joining your group. We heard a rumor that your little band is preparing to fight General Granze, yes?"

"Yeah...But what did you mean when you said 'associates?' You said it in a shifty way."

The man laughed smoothly, as though this was a common question he was used to answering, so much so that it amused him to hear it again.

"You see, my fellows and I are what you might call…a band of problem solvers."

"Problem solvers?"

"Yes, yes. We take care of unpleasant things that need to be rid of."

"You're mercenaries?"

"No, that would imply that we are available for hire freely. We work for the New Jiha Revolutionary Front. Or, NJRF, if you prefer."

"New Jiha Revolutionary Front…You're guerrillas."

"Ah, you're quick to catch on. We are revolutionists, seeking to overthrow Granze and bring order back to the world."

"How quaint." Eve looked unimpressed.

"My petite angel, you do not look pleased." The man frowned in an exaggerated manner. "Do you not agree that liberation is what mankind needs?"

"What are you babbling about? If you have something to say about Shin Dai-Gurren or what we aim to do, go talk to Adam. He's the one storming around, complaining about having to do heavy lifting. You'll know him when you see him."

"Ah! I nearly forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tyvier Santiago. And yes, I am quite aware that the name is foreign and difficult to pronounce. If you prefer, simply call me Ty."

"Tyvier Santiago? That's quite a unique name. Where are you from?"

"Ahaha…That isn't important. Some small town from far overseas. Now, what is your name, my lovely little desert rose?"

"You're asking for it, buddy." Eve glared at him. "Anyway, my name is Eve."

"Eve, hmm? A name as lovely as its owner!" The man smiled again, seemingly completely unaware that she was irritated. "Well, I must be off to see your leader now. I hope we can have another chat sometime. But before I go, how about a kiss….?"

CRACK! Another rock hit Ty. Except this time the rock came from behind. A tall man with a severe expression quietly strode up behind him.

"You don't know when to quit, do you, Santiago?"

"Ahaha…Is it wrong to be persistant?" Ty rubbed his head, cringing a bit, but still smiling.

"There are differences between persistence and obsession. It's just a shame your father never taught you what they are. Now, leave the young lady alone and go do your job like a good boy."

"You know, I DO outrank you…Alas, I suppose I should listen to my subordinate for now. Goodbye, my sweet." Ty gave Eve another smile and walked off, rubbing his head.

"I apologize for our young leader's behaviour. He's…an idiot."

"I gathered as much. Wait, leader…?"

"Yes, Tyvier Santiago is the leader of the NJRF. Alas, he's a fool, albeit a well-meaning one."

"I suppose that's not a bad thing. And you are…?"

The severe looking man bowed courteously.

"My name is Ivahn. I would offer my last name as well, but unfortunately, it seems most people in this part of the world have difficulty pronouncing it. I hail from the northernmost continent of this world."

"You're also from overseas?"

"A good portion of the NJRF are. A lot of us were refugees from our own lands who came here, only to find that tyrannical despot Granze in power. Disgusted with the state the world is in, we sought to change it for the sake of both this land and our own across the sea."

"That's quite a story."

"Indeed it is. Well, I must be off. If I don't accompany our brash leader, he's likely to say something offensive and make a mess of things again."

"I know the feeling…" Eve sighed.

Ivahn gave a wave, turning and followed after Ty, leaving Eve to her work.

"Jeez, I doubt Adam's going to get along with that Santiago guy. I know I won't, if he's going to act like that every time we meet..." She muttered. "I'm surrounded by idiots…"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

The sky was splashed with red and orange as the sun set. Adam had met with Ty and Ivahn in Dai-Gurren's dining room, and things went fairly well…up to a certain point. Adam and Ty had both managed to behave themselves as they discussed their future plans. Ty agreed to provide whatever support he could to aid Adam in the final push against Granze's forces, in return for the crucial help Adam had provided in the battle the previous week. Unfortunately, the discussion was cut short by Eve's arrival. The sequence of events that followed could only be described using one word; chaotic.

Ty brushed Adam off, choosing to chase after Eve instead. Adam grew annoyed by his actions, as did Eve. Zeke then wheeled into the room, bearing witness to the awkward scene.

"Jeez, Adam…You just gonna let that guy hit on Eve? What kinda man are you?"

"W-What the hell? Shut up, Zeke!"

"It's true, isn't it?"

"…Shut up! And you, Santiago! Get out! OUT!"

"I was afraid this would happen. You've gone and angered our host, you idiot." Ivahn groaned. "I'm very sorry, everyone."

"Ahaha…I cannot help it! In the presence of a lovely lady, I lose all self-control!"

Ivahn swatted the back of Ty's head, then grabbed his collar, easily lifting him off the ground.

"Your fatal flaw indeed. We're leaving now." Ivahn gave an apologetic look to Adam, who looked incredibly irritated and flustered.

"Don't worry about it. Adam isn't one to get angry easily." Eve assured.

"I can speak for myself!" Adam interjected. "I don't care how you guys behave as long as you're on our side. We need all the help we can get. After all, we're basically just a bunch of idiots with really big Ganmen."

"Idiots? Speak for yourself, moron!" Eve smacked the back of his head.

"Some leader, huh?" Zeke laughed.

And despite all of the arguing, joking, and yelling, a promise was made that day. The New Jiha Revolutionary Front formed an alliance with Shin Dai-Gurren, assuring that Shin Dai-Gurren would receive all of the materials they needed for repairs and upgrades, along with support in the final attack on New Teppelin. Even for the relatively unaware citizens of New Jiha, the winds of change could be felt in the air.

CH. 29 END

Author's (second) Note: Alas, this chapter was fairly uneventful. But due to the issues with my computer, I had difficulty finding motivation to do a whole lot with this one. Anyway, I thought that for this note, I'd explain the break in the "biblical naming" trend I've followed up to this point. Basically, Ivahn and Tyvier are both from other parts of the world. Ivahn is, at least in my mind, from the Gurren Lagann equivalent to Russia, and Tyvier is of mixed ancestry, although the Santiago should pretty much tell you that he falls somewhere into being the GL-equivalent of Spanish. And finally, I'm sorry for the abrupt ending to the chapter, but I just wanted to get this one done so that you guys didn't have to wait any longer for the story to advance. As always, thanks for reading and putting up with this author's crazy writing shenanigans!

-CK


	30. What The Hell Are You Staring At, Kid?

(Dear lord, has it already been this long since I last updated? Sorry about that, guys. Damn midterms, huh…?)

Chapter 30

Seven months had passed since the battle at New Jiha, and the impending war's looming presence could be felt. Minor skirmishes were happening all the time, and it wasn't uncommon to see a stray Ganmen be shot down in flames. Adam and co. had left New Jiha to seek more allies in the other major settlements. The New Jiha Revolutionary Front had agreed to protect New Jiha in Shin Dai-Gurren's absence.

As the Shin Dai-Gurren troupe made their way across the desert, they were kept moderately busy. The skirmishes between humans and beastmen typically went on close to the titanic ship, forcing Adam and Eve to intervene in order to protect both their fellow humans and their own ship. Naturally, with all the fighting, Gurren Lagann was nearly always in the repair bay when it wasn't in the middle of battle. Abel was clearly not pleased by the amount of work he was being forced to do.

"Jeez, if you guys don't stop dragging Gurren Lagann into battle and bring it back expecting full repair, I'm gonna die of exhaustion…"

"Relax, Abel. We'll be able to find more mechanics in New Littner." Eve nodded reassuringly as she watched Abel buff out the scratches on Lagann's hull.

"Oh, New Litttner…Is that where we're going?"

"Yes...hey, are you alright?"

"I think I need some sleep. My brain is pretty fried right now."

"Then go take a rest…"

"Really!"

"…As soon as you're done here."

"You're such a villain, Eve. Adam must be some kinda masochist…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing…" Abel yawned.

And so, things went as they usually did aboard Dai-Gurren. Adam wandered around whining and getting scolded, usually by Eve. Kane continued to pilot the battleship, occasionally providing supporting fire using the cannons when needed. Zeke rolled around in his wheelchair, Mari still doting on him, much to his chagrin. Jeb continued to man the comm. post, making sure to nap at every available opportunity. And finally, Noah spent all his time in the company of Mari and Zeke, still feeling guilty about Zeke's new handicap, despite Zeke's constant reassurance that he wasn't at fault.

All was well, to sum up. It was only once the group had reached New Littner that things began to pick up again…

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"So this is New Littner, huh…?" Adam marvelled at the architectural wonder before him.

New Littner was built along a massive, orange and red-brown coloured cliffside. The large web of buildings and interconnected walkways had a sophisticated flair that seemed to be lacking in the settlements Shin Dai-Gurren had previously encountered. As they approached the foot of the cliff, the group was met by a pair of smiling guards.

"You must be the group we received word about."

"Uh…" Adam hesitated. "What did you hear?"

"Heh…Look at these guys. They look nervous." One of the guards smirked. "Well, relax. We got word that Shin Dai-Gurren would be coming to our humble abode."

"Ahaha…" Adam laughed, trying not to wince as Eve elbowed him in the back.

"Come on. Let's go!" Eve shoved him towards the entrance to the elaborate settlement.

"Yeah, yeah…Hey, wait! I'm the leader here!"

"Sure you are. Sure…" Kane strode past him, smirking, shortly followed by Abel.

"Oh, one thing you should know. The settlement is divided into two sections." One of the guards piped up. "There's the town itself, and then there's the area built into the inside of the cliff, burrowing underground. Entrance into the caves is forbidden, even for those who live in the city."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I…er, that is…" The guard scratched his head.

"Just man up and tell him. We're supposed to let everyone know, right?" The other guard crossed his arms.

"Yeah, I suppose…" The first guard nodded. "You see, the insides of the caves are where the more unsavoury types are sent, you know?"

"Uh…'unsavoury types?' What do you mean by that?"

"Criminals, kid. New Littner is where lawbreakers are sent after they're caught."

"What? And you let people live here normally?"

"Sure! We've got plenty of guards on duty all hours of the day. Plus, a lot of the prisoners prefer to stay imprisoned, since the world is pretty dangerous these days."

"I suppose that makes sense." Eve nodded. "We'll make sure to keep away from-"

"Hey! Guard guys!" Adam interrupted, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Are there any military guys or good fighters or whatever in the prison?"

"Adam…" Kane smiled slightly. "Are you planning what I think you're planning?"

One of the guards raised an eyebrow.

"Adam, no! We're not doing that!" Eve shook her head. "I know you're a fan of dangerous situations, but this is going too far, isn't it?"

"Hell no!" Adam shouted. "We're definitely gonna benefit from this!"

"Jeez…I think I know what's going on. They want to take a convict off our hands."

"What? No! Don't be ridiculous!"

"I thought not." The guard laughed. "Sorry folks. Maybe you'll be able to find someone to help you around town."

"Damn…" Adam hung his head, looking disappointed. "I guess we'll-"

"Sirs! Sirs and madame!" Another guard shouted, running out of the gate and bowing as he met the group. "All of you need to get inside! Quickly, quickly!"

"Why, what's going on?" One of the gate guards asked.

"Bombers, that's what! BOMBERS!"

"Settle down, man! Settle down! Now calm it and tell us what's happening in detail!" The other guard yelled.

"W-Well…Our lookouts saw a fleet of New Teppelin bombers heading towards New Littner! They're going to bomb the hell out of us!"

"OH JEEZ!" The first guard shouted, losing his composure. "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"What the hell, man? Calm down!" The other guard swatted his head. "Calm the hell down! We're just going to have to engage a state of emergency!"

"State of emergency? What's that?" Adam asked.

"Basically, everyone in the settlement is going to have to take refuge inside one of the nearby shelters in the cliffs."

"I thought there was a prison in the cliffs…"

"There is, but the shelters are on the other side! Now come on! Get in there!"

The guard shoved Adam into the gate, with the rest of the group quickly following behind. The entire group shuffled hurredly amongst the rest of the villagers who were all being led on the cliffs winding up towards a large metal door, with multiple signs indicating where the emergency shelter was located.

Adam, Eve, Abel and Kane all ended up getting shuffled away from each other by the ebb and flow of the crowd. Adam, with a devious smile on his face, took the opportunity to slip away through the crowd, heading in the opposite direction. Eventually, he encountered a fence with a 'NO TRESPASSING' warning, winding along the cliffside. Adam climbed the fence, blissfully unaware of even the remote possibility that it could be electrified, which it was not, fortunately.

"Heh…" Adam smirked. "There's no way the rest of the crew will be able to refuse me once I bring back someone ridiculously awesome."

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

Adam wandered through the dark corridors of the prison, unsure of where he was going. He coughed a bit, not used to the nasty, musty air. Things were rather quiet, aside from an occasional cough or a quiet murmur from the wall to wall cells. Adam briefly wondered why none of the prisoners were reacting to his presence, but it occurred to him that they were probably unaware of any of their surroundings, given how dark the environment was. They all probably thought that Adam was a patrolling guard.

Suddenly, Adam lost his footing and tripped, hitting the dirty ground with a thud. He sat up, spitting dirt out of his mouth.

"Jeez…Guess I need to be more careful…"

"Heh…Clumsy bastard. Ain't you ever walked around in the dark before, klutz?"

"Huh? Who said that?"

"Friggin' stupid. Can't you see me, dumbass?" The voice called. "After all. I've got a light here."

Adam glanced around, and the slight orange flicker of a lighter's flame caught his eye from inside one of the cells. The light drifted upwards, illuminating part of a man's gaunt face, lighting a cigarette as it did.

"Hey…You're a prisoner, right? Why do they let you smoke?"

"Shut your hole. I got a guy who brings me stuff like this." The man said, picking up what looked like an old book and ripping a bunch of pages out.

Adam could hear the pages make fluttering noises as the man evidently threw them onto the cell floor. The cell immediately lit up with an orange glow as the man tossed his lighter onto the pile of papers.

"There. Now you can see me, right, dumbass?"

"Y-yeah…"

The man was grisly-looking, with matted, greasy dirty blonde hair hanging down over his brow. He scratched at his extremely stubbly chin, yawning. His eyes were dull and half-closed, as though he had just woken up. He was wearing a filthy black-and-white pinstriped uniform. He was wearing metal cuffs, but the chain had been broken, enabling him to move his arms freely.

"Now, I can tell by the idiotic way you saunter around here that you ain't one of the guards. What in the blue hell would a random jerkoff like you be doing wandering around down in this pit?"

"U-Uh…Before I tell you, can I get your name?"

"Heh…Now there's an interesting question. I've been in this grimy hole so long I've just about forgotten my first name. Seems like these days I can only remember my last name. And that's Black, so just call me that, I guess. You might have heard of my family."

"Nope. Never heard of 'em." Adam said flatly.

"You've gotta be kidding. I mean, come on. One of my ancestors saved the entire universe. Surely you've heard of him. His name was Ki…Kit…Ki-something. Granted, he died in the process, but…The point is, the Black family name should be pretty well-known out there, right?"

"I dunno how long you've been in there, but I've never heard of any Black family."

"Jeez." The man looked annoyed. "Well, that blows. I figured that once I got outta here I'd be some kind of celebrity or something."

"Once you got out? When was that due to happen?"

"Well, that's easy. It was…Uh…" Black scratched his chin, pondering. "Dammit. I forgot. It's been so long already that my memory's gone fuzzy."

"Maybe you were supposed to die in here?" Adam asked grimly.

"Shut your damn mouth. I was due out any day now, I bet."

"…Do you even know what date it is?"

"….."

"You don't, do you?"

Black shrugged.

"Doesn't matter."

"Wow, that was simple. You really don't let anything bug you, do you?"

"What are you doing here? I gave you my name, so are you going to tell me or not, dumbass?"

"Oh, right. Well, I'm here to look for someone to help me fight General Granze and his army at New Teppelin in what could be the greatest battle the world has ever seen!" Adam explained with great gusto.

"Stupid."

"Uh…What?"

"It's a stupid idea."

"Well, I guess to some people…"

"Naw, it's just stupid. Not a matter of opinion or anything like that."

"Well, if that's your opinion…"

Adam began to walk off, a little unsure of where he was going.

"Hey, dumbass."

"What?"

"Are you going to help me break out of here or what?"

"Why would I do that, you filthy old convict?"

"Because if you do, I'll help you with your stupid little plan. After all, I need to restore the Black family name to its former glory, and this seems like the easiest way to do it. So hurry up and open the door."

"Oh, crap."

"What, you don't want my help?"

"No, it's not that! I just remembered that the New Beastman Army is going to carpet-bomb the entire city, and anyone who's not in the emergency shelter is probably going to get really messed up!"

"You have such an idiotic way of putting it. Is that all?"

"Yeah, I think."

"Well, then you're gonna have to open up all of these cells. You don't want everyone in here to get hurt, do ya?"

"But they're all dangerous criminals, right?"

"Heh…You need to ask yourself. Which is worse. A bunch of lowly thugs, or an army of genocidal beastmen?"

"Well…" 

"Trust me, buddy. This'll pay off in the long run." Black smirked. "Now, get going!"

Adam sighed in exasperation. It didn't seem like this guy was going to listen.

"Where can I go to open the cells?"

"Down that hallway you're standing in. And don't be a piddly little wuss. The lights are on further down the hall. Now get goin'!"

Adam gave a hesitant nod, and turned, starting to run off into the darkness.

Black turned back to his pile of papers. Sitting in the corner of the pile was an incredibly old photograph of a crowd of people, grinning happily. On the photograph was a circle around a blonde man who bore a strong resemblance to the grisly convict himself.

"If this goes right, I bet I can get the respect our family deserves." Black murmured, cigarette still pursed between his lips.

CH. 30 END

Author's note: Well, now. An entire month since the last chapter, huh? I had been sitting on the creation of Black this whole time, and just couldn't figure out how to work him into the story proper. I apologize for the massive delay, but you know, life and junk. Oh, and are we already up to chapter 30? Wow. Time flies. I suppose I should give thanks to all of you loyal readers for supporting me over the course of this story. You guys have been my inspiration to keep going, and not give up on this little tale. All those reviews are definite encouragement, and I pray that you guys will stay onboard until the very end.

-CK


	31. Lace Up Your Boots And Run Like Hell!

Chapter 31

Adam rushed through the dark corridors, searching for the lights Black had mentioned. He could feel his feet splashing through little puddles of water as he ran. His thoughts were jumbled, due to the moral crossroads that Black had set out before him.

"I know we need more people, but is it really right to let a bunch of criminals loose to get what we want...?" He murmured to himself. "I mean, I know it's a war but…"

His thoughts were interrupted by his discovery of a couple of faint red lights further down the hall. Situated next to the red lights was a door marked 'WARDEN'S STATION'. The door swung ajar. Adam hesitantly entered the room. Not surprisingly, the room was empty as well.

"Guess the guards are all hiding out with the rest of the villagers…" Adam muttered. "I suppose I should look for a way to open the cells. But…Do I really want to risk this? All those prisoners…I could be putting lives at risk. But I'm already putting lives at risk by fighting Granze to begin with. Argh, this is impossible…"

"Nothing's impossible. Remember?" A familiar voice chimed in.

Adam turned, startled. Kamina was leaning against the frame of the door.

"Oh, it's you. I guess you always show up when I'm having difficulty, huh?" Adam sighed. "Here to tell me what to do?"

"Heh. If only it were that easy. I can't give you the answer, Adam." Kamina spoke in a lower, more serious tone than he usually did. "Making your own decisions is part of being a man. You ARE a man, aren't you?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Then what're ya waiting for, dumbass? Make your choice!"

"F-Fine…I'll…"

"You'll…?" Kamina raised an eyebrow, smirking as though he already knew the answer.

"I'LL FREE THESE PRISONERS! FORGIVE ME EVERYONE!" Adam shouted, as he disengaged the cell locks.

"Well, that's that. I'll see ya around, kid." Kamina gave a hearty wave and turned, striding off into the darkness of the corridor.

"Jeez, there he goes..." Adam muttered.

All was quiet for a moment, but soon the sound of feet splashing through the murky puddles and whooping and shouting. There didn't seem to be a huge group of prisoners making their escape. By the sound of it, there were only about two dozen running out of the compound.

"Yo, looks like you freed everyone." Black appeared at the door. "I was about to leave myself, but I just wanted to tell you…you know. Thanks and whatever."

"Where are you going to go?" Adam asked.

"Aw hell, I have no idea. I'll probably just wander around, telling the story of the Black family to anyone who'll listen." Black shrugged, looking rather apathetic.

"In that case, you could always come with me."

"Ahaha, that's funny, kid. You gonna bring a convict home to dinner, small fry?"

"What? No! I'm the leader of Shin Dai-Gurren! Weren't you listening when I told you before?"

"I'm kidding. Don't start bawling, kid. Let's go, already." Black stretched his arms and began to walk.

"H-Hey! Wait up! Do you even know where you're going?"

"Of course I do."

"You've been rotting in a cell for so long you don't even remember your own name! How can you possibly know your way out?"

"Shut up already…Jeez, you talk so much. Don't your companions get annoyed with you?"

"Fine…Lead the way."

Defying all logic, Black led Adam out of the dank prison. Once he stepped outside, Black groaned and squinted, looking up at the bright blue sky.

"Holy crap, was it always this bright out?"

"Well, you've been in a cell for god knows how long…" Adam muttered, as Black's complaining got on his nerves even further.

"Eh…You're right about that. Now, your turn to lead the way, shorty."

"I'm not short!" Adam snapped.

"You only come up to my chest. You're short." Black stated flatly. "Now where are we going?"

Adam didn't respond. His eyes had wandered up towards the looming warship that floated over New Littner.

"Kid? What're ya looking at?" Black glanced up. "Oh…goddamn."

"That thing is huge!"

"Way to state the obvious, idiot. What are we going to do about it?"

"We're gonna bring it down!" Adam steeled himself.

"And just how are we going to do that, genius?"

"We're going to attack it with Gurren Lagann!"

"You're crazy. That thing is huge."

"Now YOU'RE stating the obvious…" Another voice said.

Adam turned at the irritated voice. There was Eve, followed by Kane and Abel. They, in turn, were flanked by three guards, who all looked terrified at the sight of the gigantic warship that slowly inched over, casting an enormous shadow.

"Where the hell did you run off to, you moron?" Eve snapped. "Did you forget that THAT THING was coming?"

She pointed to the warship.

"Eve, I-"

"Shut up, I'm not done yet! What could have possibly driven you to run around out here when everyone else is hiding out? And…Oh jeez."

She facepalmed when she saw Black, who was yawning and stretching.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" Abel murmured. "I can't believe you'd actually break a prisoner out of jail to join our team. You're crazy, Adam. But in a good way, of course."

"Don't encourage him! He's an idiot, plain and simple!"

"It WAS rather foolhardy. But, after all, it's only one prisoner..."

"Uh…About that…" Adam spoke up.

"Hey, kid. Who's the bitch?" Black gestured towards Eve.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU FILTHY INGRATE?"

"Jeez…You just said the wrong thing, buddy." Abel laughed. "Hoo boy, did you ever say the wrong thing."

"EVERYONE!" One of the guards screamed, silencing the squabbling group. "SHUT UP AND GET BACK INSIDE THE SHELTER!"

"O-Oh…CRAP! RUN!" Adam looked up, and immediately started bolting back towards the city, quickly followed by Black, Eve and the rest.

The warship's bottom had opened up, and a batch of round, large black objects were falling towards the earth. Once the first one hit, it exploded, scattering debris and dirt everywhere. Fortunately it was a good distance away from the panicking humans that were scrambling towards town.

As Adam ran, bombs dropped and exploded around him, forcing him to shield his head for fear of being hit by flying rocks. All at once, he tripped. He spat dirt out of his mouth, coughing and cursing. He was going deaf from the explosions, but a voice caught his ear nonetheless.

"…What the hell are you doing, you dumbass?"

Adam got up, and was knocked over again shortly by another nearby explosion. He struggled to stand, but he was shellshocked. He was having even more trouble registering his surroundings than he had been before, through all the smoke and debris.

"Jeez, you're a pain in the ass…" The voice floated through the ringing in Adam's ears as his vision blurred. "Fine! I'll be the one to drag your sorry butt out of here!"

Adam felt something yank on his collar and begin to drag him in an unidentifiable direction. He couldn't tell who or what it was, but it quickly picked him up and began to move at a heightened pace.

Thud. After a short period of that strange quick-moving sensation, Adam was thrown to the ground again. He let out a sharp yell and cursed, rolling over to hold his sore arm. His vision readjusted, and he found himself staring up at Black.

"Goddamnit, kid. You call yourself a leader and yet you're stumbling around out there like a moron. You wanna die? Friggin' dumb bastard…"

"Where are we?"

"Well, we WOULD be in that bomb shelter if you hadn't dawdled, stupid. I had to make due with this alcove in the side of the cliff because you got us separated from everyone else." Black rolled his eyes, digging through his pocket for another cigarette.

"…And that, my fellows, is exactly what I was hoping for." A strangely familiar voice called from the alcove entrance.

"Who's there?"

"Heh…Don'tcha remember me, pal?" The figure standing in the entrance stepped forward. "Did you really think I'd just roll over and give up the last time?"

"Oh crap. It's Ob…" Adam groaned. "This guy is really annoying…"

"Hey, hey. That's not very nice." Ob laughed. "After all, is it really smart to say that to the one assigned to kill you?"

"…Are you talking about yourself? Because I was talking to him." Adam shoved a thumb towards Black. "Anyway, you're here to kill me. Why am I not surprised?"

"Who's this asshole?" Black asked. "One of our enemies?"

"That's about right." Ob stepped forward, with a hand at his side. "And I'm going to show this fool that hell hath no fury like a beastman scorned, or something like that."

In an instant, Black dodged backwards, a couple strands of hair flying from his head. Ob had drawn a long, sharp sword and swung, aiming to decapitate the foul-mouthed prisoner.

"Oh, shoot." Ob clucked his tongue. "I missed. I was going to put your ugly head on my mantle…"

"Heh…Look at you. Callin' me ugly like that. Punkass like you." Black smirked. "But, you screwed up. In a fight, the only rule I follow is this; only attack when you've been provoked."

"Sounds about right for a dirty convict such as yourself." Ob laughed.

"Yeah, and you just gave me permission to beat the tar out of ya. So brace that spindly body of yours. I'm gonna break every bone I can."

"Are you sure about this? He's got a sword…" Adam muttered.

"HA!" Black laughed loudly. "He's handicapping himself if he's expecting to beat me with that damn fruit knife. Now…"

Black took a long drag from his cigarette, then threw it to the ground. He cracked his knuckles menacingly, the dull metal shackles jangling as he did.

"What part of you do you want me to break first?"

CH. 31 END

Author's Note: And Ch. 31 is finally complete. Wow, this only took me, what, a month and a half? I was really busy with university, and general writing blockage. That's why this chapter isn't up to my usual standards, length-wise. But I really wanted to get it finished so that you loyal readers wouldn't have to wait for the next instalment any longer. Cheers!

-CK


	32. I Got Something Real Important To Say

Chapter 32

"Nope, sorry!" Black taunted as he ducked under Ob's horizontally-swung blade.

"Ngh, dammit! Would you shut up! I can't focus on cutting your head off if you're constantly jabbering!" Ob snarled, getting riled up.

Crack! Black followed up is dodge with a swift one-two punch combo to the jaw. His shackles weren't hindering his ability to fight in the slightest, it seemed. Although, he didn't seem to be so low as to use the chain to choke his opponent.

"C'mon, loser. You really suck at this." Black yawned, having the audacity to stretch a little. "I thought you said you were gonna cut off my head and all that bullcrap. Or was that just lipservice from an incompetent fleabag?"

"SHUT…UP!"

Woosh! Black leaned back ever so slightly, and strands of his long stubble fell to the ground. Yet again, he had narrowly avoided a fatal strike. Not that it mattered. It was obvious to everyone there that Black was in complete control of the situation, and was simply toying with his opponent.

Ob attempted another angry strike, this time aiming a stab at Black's stomach. Black did dodge, but at the last second, lost his footing, letting the blade graze his belly.

"S-Shit, that smarts." Black cussed, as his black and white striped uniform developed a sizeable red blot.

"Are you alright?" Adam called. "You're bleeding!"

"Well jeez! I didn't notice, kid!" Black called back sarcastically, crouching into a sweep kick.

Unexpectedly, Ob jumped the kick, raising his blade to strike again. Black rolled to the side to avoid the falling blade again.

"Where's your big talk now, prisoner?" Ob taunted. "A bit of blood and you clam up?"

"Heh…"

"That's all you have to say?"

In an instant, Ob was knocked back by something. Black had picked a rock off the ground and thrown it, nailing Ob square in the face.

"You cheap bastard!"

"That's why I'm laughin', buddy. I said that I only followed one rule in a fight, and I didn't hear any arguments from you." Black smirked as he hopped to his feet, dusting himself off. "Oh, and now we're even. You're bleeding too."

Ob licked the blood trickling from his cut mouth.

"Well, well, well. So I am. I suppose I've fooled around enough."

"What do you mean by that?" Adam asked?"

A wide, sadistic grin spread across Ob's face as he shoved his blade into the dirt.

"Lame. You're giving up? Probably not. That'd be too easy." Black scratched his nose.

He didn't seem particularly bothered by his bleeding wound. Adam, having regained his bearings, stood up to join the fight.

"Heh…So you're jumping into our little scrap." Ob laughed. "Well then, I'd be happy to oblige. At least, that's what I'd like to say, but…"

Ob put a hand on his belt, and pulled a pistol out, aiming it at Adam.

"Sorry, kid. It's just business." He laughed coldly.

"Then what are you waiting for? Pull the trigger." Black shrugged.

"H-Hey! It's my life on the line here!" Adam protested.

"Shut your hole and let me handle this, kid." Black waved his hand airily. "Now, fleabag. Did you think this one through. There's one of you, and two of us. If you kill the kid, you can bet I'm going to snap your neck within the same moment. Choice is yours, you know? One life for another. Surely if killing this kid is that important, your life would make a suitable exchange."

"Heh…What makes you think you can snap my neck before I get a second shot off?" Ob asked. "Frankly, you may be powerful, but you move like a slug in molasses."

Black leaned down to scratch his leg, still seemingly unaffected by his bleeding cut.

"Well then, boy. I guess this is your final moment. Any last words?"

Adam smirked, glancing at Black and catching a glint of light nearby his shoe.

"Yeah. Who the hell do you think I am?"

There was a sickening crunch. Flecks of blood spattered to the floor, and Ob let out a sharp yell of pain. His pistol clattered onto the ground amidst the blood.

"D-Dammit, you filthy humans!" Ob shrieked, waving his hand about, trying to remove the shiv that was firmly stuck all the way through his palm. "THIS HURTS, GODDAMN YOU!"

Adam strode up to the panicking Ob and decked him with a single, solid punch. He then grabbed the beastman by the collar and shoved him up against the alcove wall.

"I'm gonna give you one last chance, even though I really shouldn't. Just answer a few questions, and then I'll let you go. Got me?"

"N-No! I won't tell you anything!" Ob winced.

"FIRST!" Adam said loudly, ignoring Ob's protest. "What's with you? You were never this motivated to kill me or my friends before."

"Ngggh….Fine. I underwent mental rewiring at the suggestion of General Granze after the last time you and I crossed paths. He improved me, bringing me up from a lazy fool to a general-class warrior!"

"That bastard, willing to rewrite people's personalities to suit his own needs. Jeez, when's he going to stop treating people's lives like they're game pieces?"

"Heh…"

"SECOND!" Adam continued. "How well-prepared is Granze for the impending war?"

"Oh ho ho…You have absolutely no idea, boy. You and your race are doomed, plain and simple."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's got the Spiral Seeker! The Spiral Seeker!"

"What are you babbling about?"

"Heh…I'm going to die anyway. I may as well tell you. The Spiral Seeker is an orbital superweapon making its way around the planet. Let's see, at the current rate of charging, it should be fully charged just around the time of your little war."

"That's crazy! And what does this weapon do?"

"It obliterates any living organism with spiral energy, like an EMP, but for humans. Your entire race is going to be destroyed in the span of a single day. How does that sound?"

"E…M…P?"

"…Idiot." Black muttered. "I've been locked in a cell for who knows how long and even I know what that is…"

"Yes, yes. Joke and laugh while you can, fools. You're all going to die. Every last one of you…"

Adam threw Ob to the ground, and Black strode over.

"Gimme back my shank." He said, leaning over and yanking the knife out of Ob's hand.

"AARGH, DAMMIT!" Ob yelled in obvious pain. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!"

"Jeez, what's with him?" Black raised an eyebrow.

"You DID stab him through the hand…"

"! MY HEAD!" Ob shrieked. "MY BRAIN IS…"

"I think there's something wrong with his head."

"Gee, you think? Do something!"

Black stepped forward on Adam's command, but Ob stood again.

"I see how it is, they rewired my head alright…I've divulged important information, and now my brain is shutting down as a result. Heh…That General Granze is a real bastard, ain't he?" Ob laughed, speaking in a stilted, unnatural manner. "AAARGH, THIS HURTS!"

Blood started trickling from his nose, and he began to convulse.

"Well, human…kid. Listen close. That bastard crossed a line. Eheheh…" Ob went back into a smooth speech pattern, despite his condition, or possibly because of it. "I want you to beat Granze. For your people and for mine."

"Look at this. A beastman asking you to kill his boss." Black mused.

"Shut up for a second." Adam said shortly, looking uncharacteristically serious. "The man's dying and he's trying to repent. I think that warrants a listen."

"Smart boy…Granze is insane. He's…urgh…" Ob clutched his forehead. "He has no rhyme or reason to anything that he does. He believes himself to be the single greatest force on the planet, and orders around his troops, along with torturing and experimenting on the defiant ones, to build his own ego and satisfy his sick fantasies about godhood."

"I figured as much...That's what's been driving me most of the way. What he's doing isn't right, and I feel like if I don't stop it, nobody will."

"Heh…you're probably right. You know, we beastmen really don't oppose humanity the way Granze does, at least, not most of the beastmen I know. Most of us follow him out of fear for our own safety and that of those we care about. I'm sure you understand what that feels like."

Adam thought for a moment about his crew, whom he considered his extended family of sorts. Even Black was starting to grow on him, despite his foul mouth and cynical attitude.

"I understand. I won't let you down, Ob."

"Good, kid. If you do, I'll beat the hell out of you if we meet in the afterlife…Ahaha, who am I kidding? I'm too lazy to do something like that…"

"Haha…" Adam could feel a lump in his throat. "Yeah."

Ob's speech ended with a genuine, friendly smile. He turned and walked out of the alcove, to the best of his ability, needing the walls to keep him propped up. He staggered out into the sun, and then collapsed.

"I…guess that's it."

"What's it, kid?"

"All that's left now is Granze. We're going to march into New Teppelin and show that abomination that it's time for a change."

"You're insane, kid. Plain crazy. But, you know, in a good way." Black smirked. "Hm…Sounds like the bombing run is over. Think everyone survived?"

"Jeez, don't be a downer." Adam muttered, heading out of the alcove.

"You'd have the same outlook as me if you spent as long as I did in a filthy prison cell, kid. It's a natural outcome."

"Heh…" Adam smiled bitterly; weary after the day's events. "I've never been a big fan of phrases like 'natural outcome.' There's no such thing as predetermined events, or any crap like that. Well, that might not be true, but hell, it's how I see things. We've gotta forge our own path, smashing any barriers in our way."

"You…what?" Black gave him a blank look.

Adam simply shrugged and walked off into the sunlight.

CH. 32 END

Author's note: A pretty quick update this time. Anyway, there are two random musings I've stumbled across in the recent sessions I've spent writing this story. One, it's becoming less about the robots and more about the people. I'm sorry if that's disappointing for the lot of you, and I promise that future chapters will be more Gurren-centric. I mean, naturally. The final battle's coming up. The point about the character-focus leads into my next point. I've noticed that, for good or for bad, Adam is maturing and becoming serious about the consequences of his actions. Now, I suppose with the weight of the world on his shoulders, it'd be natural, but you know, it's odd to see. Given how immature and brash the hero was at the beginning, I feel like a parent watching their child grow up. Oh well, this gigantic author's note will have to conclude for now. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing and putting up with me. Cheers!


	33. The Sky Is Falling!

Chapter 33

Adam strode out into the sunlight and looked to the sky. The bomber was still inching its way across the blue expanse, although it had seemed to stop dropping ordinance on the city. The city itself was clearly battered but still intact. It would stand to reason that the settlement would have been bombarded before, and it seemed that a lot of effort had been put into fortifying the buildings.

"Sheesh, it looks like that…thing is still flying over. I guess that means we didn't miss our chance!" Adam flashed a familiar, determined grin. "Hey, Black! Get out here!"

"What now?" Black grumbled, squinting as he stepped out into the sun. "And what the hell are you looking so smug about?"

"That!" Adam pointed triumphantly to the airship. "You wanted glory, right? Well, you're gonna get it! We're going to bring that thing down!"

"You…! You're nuts! That thing is gigantic!"

"Heh…Did you forget? We've got Gurren Lagann!"

"Are you still going on with that? Jeez…Alright, fine! Lead the way, kid." Black begrudgingly nodded.

Adam smirked again and started running towards Shin Dai-Gurren, which miraculously hadn't been close enough to the blast zone to tip over or be majorly damaged by the bombing. It took a relatively short time for Adam and Black to run to the ship, but they had to take a couple minutes to catch their breath, particularly the chain-smoking Black.

"Heh…" Black coughed in between laughs. "That's quite the ship, kid. I guess you weren't kiddin' around. Now, let's see if you were telling the truth about Gurren Lagann too."

"I don't lie. It's not my style." Adam knocked on the thick metal bay door and shouted. "Yo, is anyone still in here? C'mon, it's me!"

After a moment there was a loud buzz and Adam stepped back. The bay door swung down, opening. There was Zeke, looking irritable as always, with Mari pushing his chair.

"Oh, it's Adam." Mari smiled pleasantly. "Back so soon?"

"Goddamn, Adam…We have an intercom, you moron. You don't have to shout like that." Zeke muttered. "And why are you out here anyway? Are we leaving?"

Zeke glanced past Adam and caught a glimpse of the gigantic airship inching across the sky.

"Wait a sec. That's some kinda airship! Was all the shaking earlier caused by that thing?"

"Uh, yeah!" Adam said hurredly. "We're going to bring it down, so we came back here to get Gurren Lagann. Is it still in the bay?"

"Where else would it be, you moron?" Zeke looked annoyed. "One more thing, who's the scraggly looking guy?"

"That's Black. He's going to help us fight Granze!"

"Yo." Black gave a simple wave of his hand as he stuck another cigarette in his mouth.

"Oi, Black. Mind sharing one of those?" Zeke asked as Mari looked at him disapprovingly.

"Not a problem, buddy. I roll 'em myself. Granted, I think they might be a bit stronger than whatever you're used to." Black walked past Zeke as he followed Adam, dropping a handful of cigarettes into Zeke's lap.

Adam suppressed a laugh as he heard Mari forbidding Zeke from smoking Black's homemade cigarettes, and Zeke groaning. Leaving the two of them, Adam led Black up to the bay, where Gurren Lagann stood, awaiting its master. Black looked genuinely impressed, raising his eyebrows. And yet, his expression was still vague and somewhat apathetic at the same time.

"Damn, kid. Just…damn. We're gonna pilot this thing?"

"What're you, stupid? Of course we are!" Adam smiled proudly.

"Friggin…wow. This is incredible. Let's go already!"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

The gleaming Gurren Lagann stormed across the dusty landscape towards the massive bomber, which was still slowly inching across the sky.

"WOOO-HOOO!" Adam whooped in excitement.

"Jeez, kid. Do you always make this much noise when you're piloting this thing?" Black muttered.

Adam didn't hear him. He was running on pure adrenaline. It had been quite a while since he had gotten to face a challenging opponent. The menacing airship continued to coast across the blue sky lazily, although now it appeared to be turning.

"Where do you think it's going?" Adam asked.

"Looks like…it's turning around!" Black answered after observing the ship for a moment.

"It must be coming around for another run!"

"Jeez, they really don't want this place around, do they?"

"We gotta hurry!"

Gurren Lagann broke into a high-speed sprint at Adam and Black's command.

"Hey, kid! Have you given any thought to how we're going to get up there? I mean, this thing can't fly, right?"

"Uhhh…"

"…You didn't think of that, did you? Stupid kid!"

"I guess we'll just have to wing it!" Adam grinned, although the smile was a bit forced. "Eheh…Just leave it to me!"

Black just shrugged, looking irritated at Adam's relatively careless attitude. The pair directed Gurren Lagann into the town. Unsure of what to do, Adam climbed out of Lagann for a moment to take a look at the sky.

"Hm…Looks like the only way we're getting up there is by climbing and jumping."

"Oh, is that all?" Black asked sardonically.

"Yeah, we'll just climb up the side of the cliff, wait for the ship to come back and start dropping bombs. Then we jump on the bombs like steps on our way up to the top."

"What." Black asked flatly. "That…is probably the STUPIDEST idea I've ever heard."

"Oh yeah? Then what do you think we should do?"

"I don't know, something that DOESN'T involve us jumping onto high explosives? Let's see…What if I used Gurren to toss you and Lagann at the ship as it passes over? Then you can infiltrate the ship and crash it or something."

"But there'll be tons of beastmen up there! I've got no way to defend myself!"

"Jeez, you never want to do things the rational way, do you?"

"Nope!" Adam laughed.

"That's not something to be proud of, idiot! Fine, there's no point in arguing. We'll do that whole 'suicidal bomb-jumping' thing."

"I knew you'd see it my way!"

"I'm NOT seeing it your way! I'm just trying to speed this plan along. If we hang around here, we're going to get a ton of bombs right onto our heads."

"Oh, crap. You're right! We'd better get moving!" Adam glanced at the sky again.

A dark shadow was beginning to creep over the city as the airship began to make its way back around. Adam and Black didn't have much time.

Gurren Lagann used hand drills, materialized from Adam's seemingly endless supply of spiral energy, to latch onto the massive rocky wall on the edge of town.

"So, Black."

"Oh jeez, he wants to talk to me." Black groaned. "What is it, kid?"

"How did you end up in that grimy old prison cell anyway?"

"Didn't I tell you already?"

"Uh…no.

"Ah. Thought I did. Oh well."

"…So?"

"So what?"

"Dammit, Black, I think sitting in the dark for so long made you stupid."

"Shut yer hole. I had books and crap to read in there. I'm smart."

"You can read!"

"Kid, do you WANT me to come up there and break yer nose?"

"So!" Adam said quickly, changing the subject. "Back to the topic at hand! Eheh…"

"Oh, right. Well, if you're really that interested to know, I guess I'll tell ya."

"Awesome, so what was it?"

"I killed people and stole junk, kid. That's all there really is to it."

"You killed and stole stuff? You're not telling me the whole story."

Gurren Lagann clambered up onto the top of the cliffside, having swiftly made its way up using the drills, allowing Black the opportunity to dodge the accusation.

"Hey, lookit that, kid. We're at the top of the cliff." Black said. "And here's where you get off."

"Say what?" Adam asked flatly.

Black reached one of Gurren's hands up and yanked Lagann out of its usual spot atop the giant red body.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing!"

"The smart thing, kid. Did you really think your plan would work better than mine? You wanted to leapfrog live explosives, dumbass! I'm gonna toss ya onboard the airship. Just do whatever it is that you do normally in situations like this."

"But I've never BEEN in a situation like this before!"

"Oh. Oh well!"

Black shrugged and took three giant steps forward, swinging Gurren's arm overhand and pitching Lagann towards the passing ship at high velocity. The little robot curled into a spherical shape when Adam started panicking and shaking the controls. Continued panicking led to the ball sprouting spikes all over itself, as it had done in New Jiha.

It turns out that Black's aim was slightly off, as Adam didn't land on the deck of the airship, but rather, tore through a section of the hull. Lagann tumbled through the wall and crashed to the floor, landing in what appeared to be the crew's quarters. The drills covering the sphere retracted, giving Lagann the appearance of a pinball with a face.

"That…BASTARD!" Adam snapped angrily, but quickly covered his own mouth.

Alas, Adam's outburst had been heard, and a couple of guards wielding some sort of rifle came bursting into the quarters.

"Did you hear- Holy hell, what is that?"

"I have no idea! It's like a ball or something!"

"Should we shoot it?"

"Nah, let's just toss it out the ordinance bay with the bombs. We're due to drop our next salvo in 20 minutes."

"Crap." Adam muttered under his breath.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

The two guards hauled the 'mysterious' foreign object down to the huge ordinance bay. Adam mentally noted that the two beastmen carrying him around didn't seem to be very bright.

"Oi, you two! What the hell are you carrying around?" Another voice shouted.

"We just found it in the crew quarters! We were gonna dump it along with the bombs!"

"Are you two moronic? Go put it in with the trash! We'll dump it out in the desert when we're done wiping this city off the map!"

"Crap, crap crap crap crap…" Adam continued to mutter under his breath.

The two beastmen hauled Lagann across the ship, complaining loudly to each other, before unceremoniously dumping Lagann onto a pile of trash. The two guards left, still groaning about getting yelled at, and Adam was left to decide his next move. He made Lagann's legs and arms re-engage.

"So, I'm in. What do I do now?" He mused to himself before cracking a grin. "Wreck this thing from the inside, obviously! Most of these crew guys are probably busy getting the bombs ready, so I should be able to slip up to wherever the controls are…and why am I talking to myself! Jeez…"

Adam managed to avoid detection for a long period. The only person who saw him was one beastman standing in one of the corridors, smoking. The beastman took one look at him, rolled his eyes and went back to what he was doing, completely apathetic.

Eventually, Adam worked his way up to a big room at the front of the ship.

"Bingo." He murmured.

He slipped out of Lagann, creeping over to the beastman standing at the controls. Suddenly the pilot spun around and swung a fist at Adam.

"Thought you could sneak up on a beastman, eh?" He shouted.

Adam ducked the punch and shoved the pilot into the control panel. He grabbed the pilot's head, and slammed it into the panel.

"JEEZ!" Adam yelped as sparks sprayed everywhere. "Crap…I shouldn't have done that."

The pilot was out cold and Adam had damaged the controls.

"Captain!" A voice crackled over the intercom. "What are you doing? You manually locked the ordinance bay! We just armed the bombs! Unlock it or this entire ship is going up like a firework!"

An alarm was blaring, and the ship's lighting had turned red to reflect the state of emergency the area was in.

"Looks like it's time for me to leave." Adam said.

"Hey! What the hell?" Another voice shouted.

"Oh…crap."

A crowd of armed guards was at the cockpit door, aiming their weapons at Adam. They began to open fire on him, and Adam dived, rolling behind Lagann. The bullets dinged off Lagann's thick armour. Adam waited for the guards to stop and reload, before vaulting into Lagann and starting the machine up.

"Alright, you guys. I really hate to take off in such a hurry, but I REALLY don't want to stick around."

Adam shoved Lagann's controls forward, sending it into a charge. He easily knocked the guards out of the way as Lagann tore down the corridor. Adam had no idea where he was going. It was a miracle that he made it all the way from the garbage room to the cockpit. At this point, he didn't have time to worry about where he was.

"Let's go, Lagann!" He shouted, shoving the controls forward, rolling the machine into a ball again.

With the sheer velocity that he had built up, Adam was able to blast right down to the end of the corridor, covering the ball in drills as he did before. Combining the high speed and drills, Lagann was able to burst right through the hull of the ship, sending it freefalling towards the city below. It fell through one of the town buildings, relatively undamaged, aside from a couple of dents and scratches.

"Jeez, what a ride." Adam groaned, rubbing his head as he crawled out of Lagann. "Now where's-"

His question was interrupted by a deafening explosion. After another moment there was an equally loud crash. Adam stumbled out of the damaged house, still rubbing his head. Close to the center of town were the scorched remains of the airship. After all of the chaos, it was eerily quiet.

Adam strode over to the wreckage, and called out to see if anyone else onboard the ship had survived. Nobody answered.

"Hm…Well, I'm sure that at least some of them managed to escape before the ship exploded…At least, I hope so…" He muttered.

In the silence, Adam could hear a heavy metal door being opened after a few minutes. The sounds of a slowly approaching crowd could be heard after that.

"ADAM, YOU MORON! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" An all-too familiar voice shouted.

Adam glanced around, and saw Eve running towards him, looking equally irritated and amazed.

"Ehehe…" Adam grinned, attempting to look cool.

It suddenly occurred to him how filthy and scuffed up he must look.

"You idiot! What would drive you to do something so stupid?" Eve chastised him angrily. "What if something happened to you? I'd…that is, everyone would-"

"Hey, kid. Looks like you pulled it off." Black showed up at that exact moment. "I told you my plan was better than yours."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Adam begrudgingly admitted.

"Oh, so it was HIS idea!" Eve said, sounding even more irritated than she already had been. "Adam, are you actually getting dumber or is it just my imagination?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm an idiot, I know. But…yeah, sorry." Adam apologized reluctantly.

"You're supposed to be our leader. You really should be thinking about these things more. Crazy stunts like these don't always work. You could have easily died."

"Listen to her, kid. She's a smart one."

Eve just glared at Black.

"Take a bath, convict. You reek."

Adam laughed, mostly from relief that the chaotic events of the day were over. He also felt a certain sense of accomplishment for stopping another of Granze's attempts to destroy innocent bystanders. To top it off, the sun was beginning to set and the sky was turning a brilliant shade of orange.

"All in all, a good day." He said to nobody in particular.

Eve and Black both stared at him for a moment before responding simultaneously.

"Idiot."

CH. 33 END

Author's Note: This chapter took me ages to actually finish. I had been sitting on the first half of it since early December. I'm extremely sorry for those of you who were looking forward to this and had to wait this long. All the support I've gotten over the last 10 months have been amazing and have also been the driving force keeping me working on this story. You guys are the best. All there really is to say about this chapter is that I was really, REALLY ready to end this section of the story and move on to the next one.

-CK


	34. Do Stars Go On Forever?

Chapter 34

A single night had passed since Adam had destroyed the bomber. The entire crew had migrated back to Dai-Gurren and collapsed in their beds, absolutely exhausted from the day's events. All, that is, except for Eve. She stood on Dai-Gurren's deck, the gentle night breeze ruffled her short hair slightly.

"That idiot…" She murmured. "What was he thinking? This is the second time he's risked his neck…"

"Hey, Eve!"

The sudden voice made her jump. She spun around to reprimand the person the voice belonged to, but stopped when she saw Adam standing there, his silver shades glinting in the moonlight.

"You jerk. Sneaking up on a lady like that…" Eve smirked slightly.

"A lady? Where?" Adam asked jokingly, receiving a light kick in the shin from Eve as he laughed.

"What are you doing here?"

"Huh? Oh, Black decided it'd be fun to kick me out of the captain's cabin and lock the door, so I decided to sleep out under the stars."

"Why did you let him join again?"

"He's got barely any morals, but he saved my life earlier. Remember Ob? He came looking for us, his brain rewired by Granze to make him an assassin. Black stopped him from just shooting me dead."

"Oh…I see."

"So, uh…yeah. I'm sorry about earlier."

"What is there to be sorry about?"

"You're always telling me not to do stupid stuff, and what I did was pretty stupid. Going into the enemy airship with no backup, and then blowing the thing up, I mean."

"Ah, that. Yeah, it was pretty stupid."

"Heh…My original plan was even dumber. Anyway, yeah. I'm sorry I made you worry."

"I wasn't worried." Eve shook her head. "I was just thinking of the team, that's all."

"If you say so." Adam turned and looked out at the city. "We sure did a number on this place."

"It seems like everywhere we go, things end up destroyed…Adam, are we doing the right thing?" Eve asked after a moment.

"What?" Adam wasn't sure he heard her right.

"Are we doing the right thing by fighting Granze?"

"Of course we are. It may seem like it's wrong because people are getting hurt in the process, but…Well…" Adam realized how that sounded and quieted down.

"…Yeah." Eve nodded, reading the expression on Adam's face. "If all the fighting ends in peace, then it'll have been worthwhile."

"Yeah." Adam swallowed.

"Is something wrong?"

"Just thinking about…nah, it's nothing."

"Tell me."

"No, I'd rather not."

"C'mon." Eve prodded. "I'm sure you'll feel better if you tell me."

"No!"

"Why are you so stubborn? You can't just bring something like that up and then not explain yourself!"

"…Fine. I feel guilty."

"Guilty? About what?"

"Eve, we've destroyed things, we've dragged people into OUR battle. We've KILLED people."

"Adam…" Eve hesitated, unsure of how to respond to this uncharacteristically grim statement. "You aren't seriously thinking that way, are you?"

"I know I shouldn't be talking like that, what with being the leader of the crew and all. But sometimes it's hard not to feel like what I'm doing is wrong. If it was right, people wouldn't be dying…at least, that's how I feel sometimes."

"You idiot." Eve said softly. "You're so stupid. You can't have change without sacrifice. It's a harsh truth, but even still, it's just something that you've got to accept. And seeing you say stuff like this is just wrong. You're the all-out, aggressively moronic, hot-blooded leader of Shin Dai-Gurren. What would the team say if they saw you acting like this?"

"You're right." Adam laughed a bit bitterly, slapping himself lightly on the face. "I'm being stupid. Promise you'll keep this a secret?"

"To the grave." Eve held out a pinkie finger. "Shake on it."

Adam obliged, and gave his trademark grin, showing that it was off his mind. Eve turned around again and looked up at the sky.

"Stars are amazing." She said, seemingly far off in her own little world. "It's like the sky goes on forever and there are thousands upon thousands of stars just hanging there. It's like magic."

"I never thought I'd hear you say something like that." Adam mused. "You never seemed like the type to enjoy stuff like the night sky."

"I suppose there's a lot you don't know about me yet." Eve smiled.

"Yeah, I guess not." Adam laughed. "Well, I think the stars are pretty cool too. I've always wondered what's out there. Like, is there an end? If you keep going and going, will you reach the edge of the universe?"

"You know, the stories say that Simon and the rest of Dai-Gurren fought a terrible foe in the depths of space, and during that fight, they combined their forces into a Ganmen the size of galaxies in order to save the entire universe."

"That's awesome." Adam would have normally shouted, but some strange feeling deep in his gut was keeping him calm and collected. "Well, I suppose I should get to sleep soon, but first I'm going to take a walk around. Try not to stay awake staring at the stars all night, okay?"

"Idiot." Eve smiled slightly. "You think I'd do something childish like that?"

"Maybe." Adam gave a wink and a smile before striding off, humming softly.

Eve went back to staring at the stars, but her mind wasn't on the twinkling dots in the sky. Instead, she was trying to grasp what had just transpired. She had gone an entire conversation with Adam without him annoying her to the point of physical violence. And on top of that, he had seemed like a completely different person for a short period. Reflective and quiet, completely unlike his normal self. Something had driven her to comfort him, to make him smile again.

"Heh…" She laughed softly. "Maybe, under different circumstances, if we weren't fighting a war, all that stuff the others have been saying about me and him…"

Another breeze swept lightly through Eve's short hair as she imagined all sorts of different possibilities.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

A couple more days had passed. The town of New Littner had begun its repair initiative, and Shin Dai-Gurren had settled on staying until they were absolutely sure that things had completely settled down and they were prepared for the last couple months before the real battle begun.

The Shin Dai-Gurren crew had found various different things to do during their off time in New Littner. After cussing out Adam for roughing up Lagann again, Abel was combing the remains of the wrecked airship, constantly repeating that he was sure he'd be able to scavenge some jet propulsion parts from the engines or some other variation of technological jargon. Eventually Leeron showed up again, leading to a happy reunion, complete with eye rolling and scoffing from Adam and Black. Leeron then took to helping Abel comb the airship for parts straight away.

Jeb had gotten to sketching out the schematics for radio equipment and a transmission tower after he noticed that this was the first settlement he had visited that didn't have anything of the sort. The townspeople planned to break down whatever Abel left of the airship for metal and circuitry, and they assured Jeb that if he drew up coherent schematics, the engineers of the town would be able to easily build the equipment after Shin Dai-Gurren left.

Zeke was tending to the injured. In the chaos of the attack, some people had broken limbs, cuts and various other injuries. With Mari pushing his wheelchair everywhere, the two bustled about, helping whoever needed it, free of charge. Their very first patient had been Black, who had maintained the gash he received from Ob right up until the crew returned.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Zeke had asked in annoyance. "And how are you still alive? You've been bleeding for the past couple hours."

"I'm fine." Black had said flatly.

He had returned to Zeke while Adam was onboard the airship, his prison uniform torn off roughly from the waist up. He had ripped up the top half of the uniform and wrapped one of the long shreds around his cut belly.

"Well, jeez. You're nothing if not resourceful." Zeke laughed roughly. "I suppose I should be impressed. Just let me stitch up that gash and keep away from the action for a couple weeks and it'll be good as new in no time."

"Goddammit. I spent who knows how long in that filthy hole doing nothing, and now I'm being asked to spend MORE time doing nothing." Black sounded clearly annoyed. "What a pain in my ass."

"Hey, hey, hey. You think I don't know what it feels like to be out of the action?" Zeke asked seriously. "I used to be able to pilot a Ganmen, but then I lost my leg. Be thankful you're only going to be out for a couple weeks. And besides, it's not like I'm telling you to lock yourself in your quarters till then. You can do anything you like as long as you're not putting a strain on the wound."

Black had nodded reluctantly. Zeke stitched him up and sent him on his way. After the crew reunited, the majority of them, apart from Zeke and Mari, forced Black into the showers to get the years worth of dirt and grease off him. After that, they gathered together and had a huge dinner, culminating in a four way eating contest between Adam, Black, Abel and Kane, followed by a drinking contest between Black, Abel and Kane. Adam wanted to join in, but Eve absolutely refused to let him.

After drinking himself stupid, Black strong-armed Adam out of the comfortable captain's quarters and collapsed on the floor in there. Now he was helping with some of the heavy lifting around town, although some of the people he was working with were still uncomfortable around him. There had been much debate about whether New Littner was going to let Black leave. In the end he was cleared of his charges due to nobody in the city remembering what exactly he was in prison for or how long his sentence was.

"Looks like you're a free man." Adam had said, slapping Black on the back heartily. "So how's about we get those broken cuffs off your wrists?"

"No." Black said flatly. "I want to keep these things on as a reminder of the time I spent in the slammer. I may have hated every day in there, but all that time I spent in the dark let me think about what my purpose in life was. I'm going to make the Black family name legendary again."

"So when are you going to tell me why you went to jail anyway? And don't act like you don't remember. You almost told me before tossing me into the airship." Adam had pried.

"Maybe next time, kid." Black chose to simply shrug and walk off to go find something else to do.

In the end he went back to moving things around for the townsfolk, this time working with Noah. Their combined brawn made moving the large chunks of debris and metal scattered around the city a breeze.

Adam ended up sitting on the deck of Shin Dai-Gurren, staring up at the blue, nearly cloudless sky.

"Hey, Adam. Lazing about again?"

Kane appeared over him, blocking the sun.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Don't let Eve catch you lying around here. She's patrolling around, looking for any Shin Dai-Gurren members who aren't working."

"Ah, and you're helping her? Gonna rat me out?"

"Heh, not quite. I'm actually up here for the same reason you are. To relax."

"How'd you pull that off?"

"She thinks I'm calibrating the ship's engine. Never mind that Abel does that on a regular basis already."

"I thought assassins were supposed to have discipline."

"I'm not an assassin anymore, Adam. I figured you'd realize that more than anybody. I'm Shin Dai-Gurren's pilot and a loyal follower of some stupid fool who thinks that it's alright to skip out on his work."

"Jeez, stop hassling me." Adam groaned, looking mildly annoyed.

Kane did the unexpected thing and lay down next to Adam, stretching his arms and yawning loudly.

"I'm not hassling you. I meant that as the highest form of flattery."

"You're still as cryptic and weird as you've always been, old man."

"And you still don't know how to respect your elders." Kane laughed. "Not that it bothers me. It's not like nagging you to shape up would work. And besides, you outrank me, so it really isn't my place."

"It hasn't stopped any of you from talking down to me before." Adam continued to stare up at the sky.

"Talking down? Sheesh, you really don't have a grasp on reality, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're not talking down to you. We all hold the utmost respect for you, and would gladly die for your cause if that's what it takes."

"Don't talk like that. We're all going to make it through this, no matter what."

"Ha ha!" Kane laughed loudly. "Yeah, what am I saying? You're just naturally lucky, and that luck just keeps spilling over and affecting all of us. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"The final battle's coming up soon, huh?" Adam asked quietly.

"Granze said a year, right? Well, that was seven months ago. So…yes, five months to go, assuming we mount our assault after exactly a year."

"We're going to win, I'm sure of it." Adam said seriously, looking determined.

"You don't need to tell me that." Kane said before yawning again.

"Hey, Kane! Adam!" Eve's voice, somehow singsong and menacing at the same time, could be heard from the ground below Shin Dai-Gurren. "I know you two are slacking off up there, and I'm coming up! If you're still there when I reach the deck, there's going to be trouble~!"

"Oh CRAP." Kane sat straight up in an instance. "Gotta go, kid!"

"How does she KNOW these things?" Adam shouted in a panic, jumping up and bolting away to hide out in his quarters.

Back down on the ground, Eve just leaned against Shin Dai-Gurren and smirked.

"Morons."

CH. 34 END

Author's Note: This chapter is pretty different from my usual fare. No action, no fighting, just loads of talking and character development. I'm sorry if it's not up to my usual standards. Also, I don't think I'm great at the whole 'heartwarming moments' thing. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading and reviewing, you guys. And also, judging by the reviews, quite a few of you thought that I had abandoned the fic, which makes me feel terrible. I don't want to let you guys down, so I'm determined to finish this story no matter what. All the support I've received has been incredible. Thank you so much! Cheers!


	35. Let's March On, To The Final Battle!

Chapter 35

The sun hung lazily in the pale blue sky as Shin Dai-Gurren tromped across the rocky landscape. It had been a week since the group's departure from New Littner. After much debate, it was determined that all they could do at this point was rally as many allies together as they could before mounting the final assault. The odds didn't seem good, but everyone refused to say so, most of all Adam, who was looking more and more determined by the day.

As the ship travelled past settlement after settlement, they noticed how much things had changed over the course of the past year. Shin Dai-Gurren's story had travelled fast, and thanks to the NJRF, just about all of the major settlements and most of the minor ones knew that war was coming. However, instead of the usual fear and dread that the settlements had, there was a feeling of hope and optimism for the future. Even the smaller camps that didn't have much at all to do with the impending battle were preparing themselves. Every settlement that Adam's troupe came across was well prepared for a beastman assault, and yet at the same time, the townsfolk could be seen going about their business as they passed. 

As for Shin Dai-Gurren itself, the atmosphere was mostly positive…until Black and Eve came into contact with each other. Whenever someone else got into an argument with Eve, it would usually end with that person giving up, due to Eve's refusal to back down from anything. However, when Black struck up an argument, he approached it with the same attitude that Eve did. It usually came down to Adam having to break things up, much to his chagrin. For the most part though, the crew was tightly-knit, and everyone was relatively cheerful. Even Zeke could be seen smiling a bit more often than he used to, although he still regularly griped about Mari's nursing and pushing him around in his wheelchair, which was curiously still going on months after his injuries had healed.

Days turned to weeks, and weeks to months. Soon enough there was only seven days until the assault began. Two things happened during that week that stuck out in Adam's mind. The first was his discovery of a photograph from earlier in the year, taken shortly after the crew left Apara. Looking at the photo, it was apparent how much everyone had changed in that time. Adam himself had gotten a bit taller, and his messy hair was now slightly better kept, Abel had grown a bit of a beard, and so on. As Adam looked over the photograph, his glance slowed as it passed over Zeke, who was standing on his own two feet in the picture, looking bored as always, and then again when it passed over Eve, whose severe expression had noticeably softened in recent months.

Adam's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in." He called absentmindedly.

"Hey, I was wondering where you were."

Eve opened the door and leaned against the frame.

"You're slacking off again, I see."

"What? No! I was just…"

"Relax. I'm only kidding."

"You're capable of making jokes? I never knew." Adam laughed.

"Shut up." Eve rolled her eyes. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"Just…looking at this old photo."

Eve walked over and glanced at the photograph.

"Wow, how long has it been since then? Over a year?"

"Yeah, something like that." Adam said.

"What's wrong? You look like you've been moping about something."

"Well, this is it, right? Only a few more days until the final battle. I'm just wondering what happens afterwards."

"Afterwards? What do you mean?"

"What does it sound like? What happens if we win? Our journey will end and that's that, right? If beating Granze means world peace, then what role will we serve once peace is achieved?"

"Well…I suppose people will start rebuilding cities, or something like that." Eve chose her words carefully, not wanting to say anything that might upset Adam. "Does that answer your question?"

"No, I mean US. You, me, and the rest of Shin Dai-Gurren!"

"Ah…" Eve hesitated, realizing that she had been subconsciously dodging the question. "I really don't know. I hadn't thought that far ahead. Oh god...That's actually really depressing to think about."

"What do you mean?" Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Consider the possibility that we all go our separate ways. I've got nowhere to go back to. My home was burnt to the ground by beastmen ages ago."

"My house was on its last legs when I left. I wouldn't be surprised if it was wiped out by a sandstorm." Adam muttered. "I wouldn't want to go back anyway. It'd feel too weird after all the experiences I've had. I bet anything Abel wouldn't want to go back either."

"So I guess we're both in the same boat if that happens, huh?" Eve gave Adam a sad smile.

"Yeah, and you know what that means." Adam's trademark grin appeared, although it was noticeably subdued.

"If you're thinking dirty thoughts, Adam, I swear…"

"Nononono!" Adam backpedalled. "I just meant that even if everybody else goes their own way, I'll stick with you as long as you'll have me."

Eve could feel her face growing hot, and the feeling annoyed her.

"A-Adam, are you…?"

"…I mean, that's what friends are for, right?" Adam smiled.

"Yeah…" Eve sighed in a way that was indistinguishable between disappointment and relief. "That's what friends are for."

"So it's a promise then?"

"Heh…You make some stupid promises, Adam." Eve said as she held out her pinkie. "But sure. It's a promise."

"Haha, whatever, Shortstack." Adam laughed slightly.

"You haven't called me that for such a long time…I had hoped you'd forgotten."

"I never forget." Adam laughed again.

"Idiot, you forget things all the time! Like last week you-"

"Ehehe, anyway, can you go check with Kane to see if we're still on course for New Jiha?"

"Sure, but…"

Adam shooed her out of the room quickly as soon as he heard her response, shutting the door behind her with a quick goodbye. He distinctly heard her snap "Idiot!" as she tromped off down the hallway. Adam groaned in audible irritation.

"Dammit, another chance to tell her and I blew it. Jeez, I can fight a horde of beastmen but when it comes to stuff like this I'm totally useless…"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

It was time. A mere 24 hours until the final confrontation. The entire population of New Jiha, along with the NJRF, a moderate force from New Littner, a crime syndicate hitsquad from Apara, and even a couple of veteran Ganmen pilots from Sisao had gathered in the center of town. If you looked at the city from the sky, you'd see the crowd, along with every color and size Ganmen imaginable.

What Adam hadn't counted on was the support of the ENTIRE city. Every available able-bodied person seemed to be ready to assist in the push to New Teppelin. Every now and then a Beastman airship would soar overhead, not attacking but rather shuttling troops to another location.

"Adam, they're ready for your address." Kane put a hand on Adam's shoulder.

"Address?"

"Fool. You're going to motivate those people. You've come this far. There's absolutely no turning back now. If we're going to fight, we're going to win, right?"

"Heh…damn right." Adam grinned. "Thanks, Kane."

"You idiot. You have nobody to thank but yourself. Without your determination and efforts, none of us would have come this far."

"Kid! Are you gonna go out there and give these people what they're asking for?" Black called.

"You can do it, bro! No doubt!" Abel said as he examined Gurren's hull, making it as flashy and shiny as possible before its grand appearance.

"Good luck, dumbass. Try not to slip and fall off the stage." Zeke smirked, sticking a cigarette in his mouth only to have Mari pull it out with an admonishing look.

"I'm sure you'll do great, Adam." She said afterwards.

"Yo, boss. Mic's all set. Just put this headset on and everyone will be able to hear you down there." Jeb handed Adam the headset, giving him a thumbs up and a grin.

"Do it, Adam! Go out and rally!" Noah exclaimed, sounding excited as always.

"Heh…You guys are the best, no doubt." Adam laughed slightly. "Now let's do this. Where's Eve?"

"I'm right here, moron." Eve stepped around Gurren's leg, passed Abel and crossed her arms. "You'd better not screw this up, you get me?"

"Jeez, even now you're scolding me…" Adam groaned.

"Till the grave." Eve said simply, heading back and climbing into Gurren.

"What a hassle…" Adam muttered, climbing up Gurren's arm and into Lagann.

After a few moments, the gigantic curtain, emblazoned with Shin Dai-Gurren's symbol and made especially for this day, raised, revealing Gurren Lagann's shining red form to the crowd. As soon as Gurren Lagann was visible, the crowd began cheering. After the cheering settled down, Lagann's head opened up and Adam stood up so that the crowd could see him. The sunlight glinted off his silver sunglasses as he gave his trademark grin. He put on the headset Jeb gave him and cleared his throat.

"People of New Jiha, New Littner, Sisao, Apara and everywhere else! My name is Adam, leader of Shin Dai-Gurren! As I'm sure you're all aware, General Granze and his beastman forces have all but declared open war on humanity! We have to strike now, while his forces are still recovering from the losses of his generals! Now I know that most of you don't want to fight. If it came down to it, I suppose I would say I didn't want to either. But frankly, during my travels I've learned a lot about change, and the consequences of your actions. If we want humanity to continue down the winding path of destiny, we have to fight for the right to do so!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd again. Adam was on a roll.

"Now, I'm not saying that means we need to wipe out all beastmen to accomplish that goal. I've met quite a few beastmen in my travels, and even grown to consider a couple of them my friends. But as long as Granze sits on his bloody throne, I'm going to keep fighting for change. We all know what he's doing has gone well beyond the justified actions of a ruler and straight into insane, twisted genocide! There's no rhyme or reason to the things he does! He kills for his own amusement and torments his allies by subjecting them to twisted experiments!"

Adam paused for a moment, wondering whether he was beginning to ramble. After a couple seconds he regained his train of thought and continued.

"I'm not going to mince words here! This could be the last chance humanity ever has to turn things around! And you can bet that when I charge into that throne room with all of you covering my back, I'm going to beat the everloving CRAP out of Granze for all he's done to both humanity and beastmen! And I will keep charging forward and fighting until my last bit of energy is gone! That's how a drill works! THAT'S HOW SHIN DAI-GURREN DOES THINGS!"

Adam pulled the core drill from his neck and held it in a triumphant fist, shoved towards the sky. Another enormous cheer erupted from the crowd and hundreds more fists could be seen rising in the crowd, until just about everyone had their hand pushed towards the sky. At this sight, Adam gave his loyal followers the widest, most audacious grin anyone had ever seen him make.

"WE LEAVE TONIGHT!" He shouted, crossing his arms as a gust of wind ruffled his jacket and hair.

His final rallying cry was what sent the crowd over the edge.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE, GRANZE!"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

That night, a massive convoy of Ganmen marched out of New Jiha, with Shin Dai-Gurren leading the way. The moon was full and basically everyone was in extremely high spirits, given the potentially suicidal task they were about to undertake. Adam and most of his crew were standing on the deck of Dai-Gurren, apart from Kane who was dutifully piloting the mighty battleship towards its destination. It had been decided that different pilots were going to split up into teams during the assault the following day. This meant that tonight was potentially the last time the entire team would ever all be together. As such, the group was talking amongst themselves, reminiscing about the adventures they'd had up to this point, and the mood was generally a bittersweet one.

"Yo, Adam." Zeke wheeled over to him of his own volition, without Mari pushing the chair. "This is it, huh? The last day."

"Yeah, it's really kind of hard to believe, isn't it? I mean, either we fail and…you know, or we win and then Shin Dai-Gurren isn't really needed anymore."

"That's one way to look at it. The way I see it, people will always need a hero." Zeke mused. "And you're their hero, Adam. I know you're probably sick of hearing it, but everyone idolizes that boundless idiotic spirit of yours. We're all counting on you."

"Yeah. And you can sure as hell bet I'm not going to let them down." Adam nodded. "Thanks, Zeke. You're not such an asshole after all."

"Pssh, don't say that. I'm still a cynical jerk, same as always. Hey, Adam. Promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"If we win this, and we really do all go our separate ways, make sure you send me an invitation to the wedding."

"Wedding…? ZEKE!" Adam looked irritated. "Come on, it's not like that with me and her!"

"Kid, I'm not even joking. I can see it in your face. And if you don't do something about it soon, you might never get another chance."

"Jeez…" Adam could feel himself blushing a bit. "Does everybody know?"

"Bahaha!" Zeke gave a hoarse laugh. "Kid, why do you think we've been making fun of you for it all this time? We all figured it out right away!"

"Heh…I guess you figured it out before me then. I've only been really thinking about it lately."

"And why's that?"

"I dunno. Maybe it's because I'm this close to marching off to my doom. I mean, I've had near-death experiences before, but…Now, I'm worried I'll never get a chance to have a future. Or anybody else will, for that matter."

"A future. Yeah, I get it, kid. We all get it. Don't worry, we're going to win. Don't even doubt it, and we'll all make it out of this."

"This is the most serious I think I've ever seen you, Zeke. You're usually spouting random sarcastic crap all the time."

"Well, y'know…Anyway, enjoy the vibe, Adam. Tomorrow's a big day."

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

That night, in his dreams, Adam revisited a place he hadn't been to in a long time. The flowery gravestone and the sword firmly implanted in the dirt. Everything was the same as the last time he was there.

"Oi, oi!" A boisterous, familiar voice called and caught Adam's attention. "Been a long time since I've seen you around here!"

"Heh…I guess it has." Adam grinned slightly.

"You've been manning up a lot more lately. Without all that self-doubt in the way, we barely ever need to meet anymore!" Kamina's cape rustled in the wind as he smiled brightly at Adam.

"Self-doubt? That's why you kept showing up?"

"Of course, dumbass! Whenever you've had an inkling of giving up, or uncertainty about making the right decision, I've stepped in to give you a little push!"

"But why? I mean, you're a ghost, or a hallucination, or whatever, right?"

"Well, kid…oh, damn, I guess I really can't call you that anymore, can I? You're getting taller! Anyway, I'm basically whatever you think I am. What do you think?"

"I don't know. I mean, I never met you before you started showing up, so how do you explain how I'm able to see you, specifically, and not somebody else?"

"…GAAAH, I don't know, Kid! All this talking's makin' my head hurt. Anyway, when you wake up, it's off to the big one, right?" Kamina rubbed his head as he said this. "I'll be rootin' for ya. You've been through a lot. I think you guys deserve to win. Your manly spirit is more than enough to take on whatever challenges the world throws at you."

There was a call in the distance and Kamina turned to listen.

"Oh, hell. Looks like we're gonna have to cut this pep talk short. I'll see ya around, kid!" Kamina turned to walk off into the distance.

"Wait!" Adam called after him. "When will I see you again?"

"Heh…I'll always be around, kid. Whether you can see me or not." Kamina gave a hearty wave, disappearing into a cloud of dust that had kicked up.

CH. 35 END

Author's Note: Well damn, this was a gigantic infodump of a chapter, wasn't it? And yes, we are approaching the penultimate battle with Granze now, but given Gurren Lagann's…unique episode structure, who can say whether the story will end there? I suppose I could, but y'know…Anyway, I noticed as I was writing that I inadvertedly gave Adam character traits over the course of the story I never originally envisioned him having. In my mind, Adam was always an analogue to Simon, but with Kamina's tendency to act on impulse. What I got was a young man who really wants to play the hero but ends up learning what the consequences of doing so are. Adam's insecurities about himself and whether or not he's doing the right thing seem to have been showing up more and more as his impulsive behaviour lessens. That's why this chapter both irritates and fascinates me at the same time. I'm annoyed at myself for writing so much "Adam is an amazing leader and stuff" jargon, but I can't picture it going any other way anymore because it clashes so well with Adam's self-doubt about his leadership. Jeez, look at the size of this AN! Even IT'S an infodump! Anyway, as always, thanks for reading, and I promise that next chapter (naturally) will have a ton of action. Cheers!

-CK


	36. Be Brave! Don't Lose Hope For Tomorrow!

Chapter 36

"General Granze!" A beastman soldier ran into Granze's throne room. "We just caught sight of those humans approaching!"

"Hmm, so they came after all." A sinister smile curled across Granze's lips as he leaned on one arm in his ornate throne. "And how many are there?"

"Too many to count, sire! They've got all kinds of ganmen! Well over three dozen!"

"Oh-ho!" Granze sat up. "So the little whelp managed to amass his little army after all. This should be an interesting battle. That is…"

"That is…what, sire?"

"That is if they can actually reach us. Ready the artillery. And send out the troops!"

"R-Right away, sire!"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Alright, Adam." Kane's voice crackled over Lagann's comm. system. "See that gigantic tower in the distance? That is New Teppelin. Are you ready?"

"About as ready as I'll ever be." Adam responded confidently. "How about everyone else?"

Adam's question was met with a dizzying amount of responses over the comm. system. Every available hand was piloting a Ganmen, aside from Kane, Abel, Zeke and Mari, who were aboard Shin Dai-Gurren.

The convoy of machines tromped towards the ominous tower in the distance, uninterrupted for what seemed like an eternity.

"Hey, Adam…" Eve broke the silence after a while.

"Yeah?"

"Isn't it too quiet? Like, really, REALLY quiet?"

"Now that you mention it-"

Adam's sentence was interrupted by a deafening blast. Gurren Lagann was knocked from Dai-Gurren's deck, hitting the dirt. Adam's ears were ringing, and he was only vaguely aware of what was going on. The comm. system quickly reaffirmed the situation.

"We're being shelled! Everyone run!" A voice screamed over the speaker.

The next few minutes were absolute anarchy. The entirety of the fleet started scrambling towards the tower in the distance, desperate to get out of range of the artillery that was being hurled at them. The villagers-turned-revolutionaries hadn't had much time to prepare to take on the advanced forces that Granze had at his disposal, but even still, the once-idle villagers were zig-zagging in their ganmen, seemingly avoiding all the majority of the blasts by sheer survivalist instinct. Every now and then someone would slip up and their ganmen would be obliterated by the artillery. When Adam caught sight of this happening, he felt a lump in his throat but forced himself to push forward regardless.

Adam and Eve pushed forward, motivating the rest of their group to follow. As tense as the situation was, eventually, everyone managed to get themselves under control and started weaving carefully to avoid the spots the artillery kept hitting. Clearly the beastmen operating the cannons were either too lazy or too stupid to adjust their aim by more than a couple hundred meters at a time. This meant that after one shell hit, another would follow fairly close to the first one, and then there would be a gap as the beastmen realoaded the cannons.

"Alright, watch where they're firing! Just stay as far away from wherever the first shot hits as you can, and then move as far forward as possible before they fire again!" Kane ordered as he pushed his beloved flagship, just behind the rest of the battalion, occasionally having Abel fire a retaliatory shot or two at New Teppelin via the on-deck cannons.

After what seemed like an eternity of careful weaving, with occasional casualties, the fire thinned out as the crew approached the city surrounding the tower. However, they were met with a new obstacle. Once they began to get closer to the buildings, the assaulting group was met with what seemed like a never-ending stream of beastmen-piloted Ganmen opposing them.

"Alright, guys! You know what to do!" Adam shouted, as he and Eve began to cut a swath through the imposing, but surprisingly fragile machines.

"Yo, kid!" Black called from his own Ganmen. "There's a hell of a lot of these things! They don't look like they're stopping!"

"It's worse than that!" Another voice Adam didn't recognize added. "They're not even slowing down! It doesn't matter how easily we can keep destroying them! They're going to overwhelm us eventually!"

"So, it's come to this, huh?" Kane murmured from the pilot's wheel. "Listen, everyone. I think it'd be best if as many of you pushed ahead as possible. This is a cheap trick from Granze. He's trying to swamp us."

"What'll you do?" Adam asked.

"Heh, you idiot. Did you forget I'm an ex-assassin? I'm going to do what I used to do best."

"Kane! You can't take on all these guys by yourself!"

"Ha! That's no attitude for the leader of Shin Dai-Gurren to have!" Kane shouted, sounding uncharacteristically proud. "You're going to have to go on! And what kind of man would I be if I couldn't stare death in the face and laugh?"

"But-"

"Kane, think about this!" Eve interjected. "If you stay back, you'll get overwhelmed!"

"Quiet, the both of you! A CAPTAIN ALWAYS GOES DOWN WITH HIS SHIP!"

"A-Alright! But you'd better come back alive, Kane! If you don't I'm gonna kick your ass so hard when we meet in the afterlife!" Adam shouted.

"Heh. I'd like to see you try." Kane murmured and then began to bark orders. "Now listen carefully. I want as many of you to rush towards the tower. Just ignore the swarm and run! If anybody stays behind, they'd better be ready to fight to the last breath! Our objective is getting Gurren Lagann into the tower!"

A murmur of agreement swept through the defacto army, and most of them began to head towards the ridiculously tall structure looming in the center of the city, either running past or quickly tearing through any enemy ganmen that stood in their way. The beastmen seemed to be mildly confused by this turn of events.

Kane turned away from the ship wheel, and strode over to the door, picking up his sheathed blade as he walked past, and began to speak softly to it, as though it was a loved one on their deathbed.

"Well, old friend, this could be it. Our final hour. Even if I live through this, it'll be the last time you taste blood. How much blood have I spilt using you? I can't help but feel guilt for all the lives I've taken over the course of my own life. Perhaps this is my way of atoning for murdering so many people. Heh, it's funny…That kid, Adam. He's the first person I've ever considered a friend."

"Kane, I heard what you said before. Are you really going to face down that swarm all alone?" Abel appeared, blocking the doorway. "That's suicide, man!"

"Listen, Abel. You're a fine crewman. I've grown to appreciate your help keeping Shin Dai-Gurren running at maximum efficiency. Now, I need to buy everyone else the time they need to reach Granze. And to do that, I'll need a bit of help."

"I…Alright. But…What are we going to do?"

"We're going to use the ship's cannon. We'll open fire on Granze's forces until we can draw their attention away from Adam and the rest of the group. And then we'll proceed to hold out against them as long as we can. When it looks like we're going to be overwhelmed, I want you to retreat. I'll stay and make the last stand."

"Kane, that's ridiculous! You can't face them all by yourself!" Abel protested.

"I'm an old man. I've lived a full life, and if it's my time, I'm ready." Kane said, his voice ringing true with determination, cracking a grin. "And I'm a hardy old fool at that! I used to be a master assassin, you know. My skill with a blade is damn near unparalleled."

"Heh…You arrogant old bastard." Abel laughed, slightly bitterly. "Fine, I'll go, but I'm staying until the last possible moment, you got me? This ship is my pride and joy, and I'll be damned if I'm about to let a bunch of beastmen destroy her."

"Haha, that's the spirit." Kane laughed. "Now, quickly, go and tell Zeke and Mari to get in the last transport ganmen I had prepared in the vehicle bay. I don't want them on the ship when we make our stand. I'll contact Noah and have him escort them."

"You got it, cap'n!"

Abel gave a determined nod, and a quick salute before rushing off.

"Heh…" Kane let out a low laugh. "We're going to win. I can feel it."

=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Adam, are you sure it was a good idea to leave Kane behind? I mean, I know he can take care of himself, but…"

"I know. I'm worried too, but Kane's my comrade. It wouldn't be right if I didn't believe in him or his ability. After all, Shin Dai-Gurren is all about turning a bad situation into a good one, right?"

"…Yeah." Eve agreed taking a moment to regain her composure. "We gotta keep moving."

Gurren Lagann and its squad of ragtag followers began to make their way through the city. As Adam went, he could feel himself getting more nervous. Eventually the group began to split up, opting to take different routes. The buildings were much taller than anything he had seen in New Jiha or even New Littner. Fittingly, dark clouds were beginning to form overhead. Adam couldn't help but feel like things were building up to the sort of final confrontations he had heard about in the stories his father had told him and Abel when they were younger.

Adding to Adam's discomfort was the fact that the resistance inside the city had seemed to progressively thin out. He couldn't help but wonder for a moment whether every one of Granze's remaining troops had been waylaid by Kane's efforts. The fact that the surroundings were silent only served to make Adam feel more tense.

"Hey…Adam?" Eve spoke up, actually startling Adam and making him jump.

"OW!"

"What's wrong?" Eve sounded slightly alarmed.

"You made me jump and I hit my head…" Adam sighed, rubbing his sore forehead.

"Jeez, you're an idiot. Not that I can blame you for jumping. Sorry."

"No problem. So what did you want to say?"

"Well, the silence is beginning to make me paranoid, like something's going to attack at any second." 

"That's kind of true. We should keep our guard up."

"I know. I just wanted to get us talking. Y'know, to take some of the edge off."

"Uh…alright. If it'll make you feel better. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well…That is…"

"Heh, you know, I may not know a lot about how the world works. You'd be the first person to tell me that. But when you strike up a conversation with someone, isn't it a good idea to know what you're going to say beforehand?"

"You…idiot. I mean…Sorry. I'm just…"

Over the comm. system, it sounded as though Eve had swallowed before speaking. As she spoke, her voice sounded as though it was wavering.

"Eve, are you crying right now?"

"N-No! I'm…"

"Be honest. I'm not trying to make fun or anything."

"S-So what if I am? It's just that…"

From the sound of it, Eve's usually harsh defenses were being destroyed by her sudden onset of tears.

"I know, Eve. This whole thing is really bad."

"Adam, you have no idea…no idea how afraid I am right now. Afraid that we might fail, that everyone will be killed, that you'll go off to fight Granze and won't come back…" Eve began to speak hurriedly, starting to lose her composure. "And…And…"

"I know, I know. I'm scared too. I'm scared of all the same things as you are. But I refuse to back down. If we just gave up, we'd never know whether we would've succeeded in the end, right? I'm not going to tell you how to feel about what we're doing. I can't even assure you that we're going to win. All I can do is promise you one thing. I won't go anywhere, no matter what happens. Companions till the end, right?"

"…To the grave." Eve said after considering Adam's words carefully.

"You going to be okay?" Adam asked.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, you moron! Why wouldn't I be?" Eve responded, gradually regaining her composure as she spoke. "Hey, it looks like New Teppelin's tower is up ahead. Get yourself ready."

"Alright! Time to do this!" Adam raised his voice, adopting his usual loud and boisterous demeanor.

Adam and Eve went on ahead of the straggling group, who had seemed to fan out and get themselves ready to prevent any returning ganmen from reaching the tower and subsequently interfering with Adam's efforts. As it stood, Adam and Eve were the only ones who had successfully reached the tower, due to the unfortunate disorganized nature of their forces.

Adam pushed the transmitter's button to communicate with his allies.

"Hey, where are you guys? We're at the tower already!"

"Yo, kid. I'm on my way over. I got held up by a couple of smarter-than-average beastmen." Black's voice responded in short order. "Just try not to get your sorry asses killed before I get there an' I'll be able to help out just fine."

"Alright, what about everyone else?"

"Jeb here, boss. Me and Noah are working on escorting Zeke and Mari, since they'd be defenceless otherwise. Abel and Kane are holding off the forces outside, and everyone else is getting into position in various spots around the city."

"So, what? We're going to be all alone here?"

"C'mon, boss. You've got this! You can hold out for a few minutes, right?"

"I'm sure as hell going to do my best, sure. How long until you guys get inside the tower?"

"Give us 15 minutes, boss. That's all we need. Think you can hold out?"

"Yeah…Yeah!" Adam nodded, determined to not let his team down. "You ready for this, Eve?"

"I'm ready."

The pair pushed their controls forward, sending Gurren Lagann running into the gigantic tower.

As soon as they were inside, Adam and Eve understood why the city had been so empty on the way in.

"Hello, Adam. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

There stood Viral, without a ganmen, his shark-like grin in fine form, as though he had already won. Behind him stood a circular formation of heavily built ganmen, all aiming their weapons at Gurren Lagann.

CH. 36 END

Author's Note: Man, it's been a while. School kept me away from working on Return To The Heavens for a while there. I felt bad about it, since I ended off the last chapter by basically saying "Yeah, the final battle's starting next chapter." And then I proceeded to not work on it for however long. I've actually lost track, and I feel bad about that. I know my upload schedule is pretty sporadic, so thanks for putting up with it, as always. And I'm sorry if this chapter isn't up to the usual standard. I kind of feel like it was rushed. I'll try and do better next round. Ah, and before I forget, I've decided that at some point, I'm going to rewrite Ch. 18 (Ashes To Ashes). I debated redoing it for a while now, but now I believe I've settled on a version of the story that makes more sense, explains a little bit more, and is missing the plot holes/canon errors that the original has.

Thanks for reading!  
CK.


	37. You Idiot! That's Not How I Roll!

Chapter 37

"Hello, Adam. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Viral crossed his arms, looking rather self-righteous, his toothy smirk still curled from one side of his face to the other.

"Jeez, again, Viral? Don't you know when to quit?" Adam groaned.

Normally Adam would jump at the chance for a rematch with his rival, but now he was in much more of a hurry than he normally was.

"A beastman NEVER quits! Not until he has taken what is rightfully his!"

"What are you going on about now?" Eve muttered, sounding equal parts annoyed and bemused. "We're kind of in a hurry here."

"Quiet, female human!"

"For the LAST DAMN TIME." Eve sat up in Gurren's seat, looking incredibly irritated. "MY NAME IS EVE! No wonder you're Adam's rival. You're basically as dumb as he is…"

"Hey!" Adam protested.

"Enough of this foolish banter!" Viral refocused the conversation. "Get out here, Adam. I've come to claim what's mine!"

"Uh…What?"

"My pride, you foolish ape. You've bested me not once or twice, but three times! My honor as a lieutenant in General Granze's army has been shamed by you and your damned streak of luck!" 

"Are you serious? NOW? I mean, come on! Granze is up there waiting for us to fight him!" Adam groaned.

"You idiot! Was nothing you said over the past couple days serious? Are you expecting Granze to let you just waltz into his tower and fight him?" Eve yelled.

"I said ENOUGH!" Viral shouted over the two of them. "You see, Adam, you don't have a choice. My troops and I are blocking the only path up to General Granze. If you refuse my challenge, my troops will open fire, ending your life here and now. But if you accept, and by some miracle, win our duel, then I'll let you finish what you started with General Granze. Sound fair?"

"Heh…Well, I guess I've never been one to turn down a challenge. So what are we doing?"

"We're going to fight mano-a-mano. No ganmen, just us and two blades."

"Another swordfight, huh? I guess I can't say anything but yes, I accept your challenge."

"Adam, are you sure about this?" Eve murmured.

"We've got this. The troops outside will keep any stragglers occupied, and I'm sure Granze won't let this day end without getting a chance to face me himself. I've got time."

"Sheesh…If you say so, fearless leader." Eve rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride towards her comrade. "Just get it over with quick, so that we can move on already."

Adam hopped out of Lagann, sliding down Gurren's arm and skidding to a stop in front of Viral, who continued to sneer.

"You ready for this, Viral?" Adam grinned as he started to shadowbox.

"I've been ready for a long time. The question is…are you?"

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

"Keep firing those cannons, Abel! We're starting to scare some of them off!" Kane shouted over the intercom, as he manoeuvred the large Shin Dai-Gurren as quickly as the old machine would allow.

"Got it! But there's still a ton of them!" Abel gritted his teeth as he twisted the wheel to adjust the cannon's position and trajectory. "Jeez, where does Granze get these guys?"

"Heh, do you really want me to answer that question?"

Another cluster of ganmen started to clamber aboard Shin Dai- Gurren.

"Abel! You're not paying attention! Another batch of them, starboard!" Kane shouted.

"R-Right!" Abel leapt from the cannon controls, sliding down to the starboard side to where the ganmen were scrambling up the ship's side.

Once Abel made it down to the attacking ganmen's location, he decided it was time to get fancy. Using the skills he had learned from being a limber, hands-on mechanic, he leapt onto the arm of one of the ganmen. The others, apparently being less-than-intelligent, took a swing at the ganmen Abel was hopping onto. As a result, the ganmen's arm fell to the deck, torn clean off by the attack. Abel, still maintaining his momentum, leapt from the falling arm to the head, and dug one of his tools out of his pocket.

"This is what happens when ya try to take on Shin Dai-Gurren's master mechanic!" Abel shouted as he used his tool, a small blowtorch, to cut a hole into the head, just small enough for Abel to slip through.

He then shoved his boot downward, sending the separated metal straight down on top of the bewildered beastman in the pilot's seat. Abel then swooped down the hole, clocking the already bruised pilot with his feet in the process.

"Sorry, pal. But I need you guys to get lost!" He gave the dizzied beastman a knock to the back of the head, sending his entire upper body collapsing onto the controls, which forced the damaged ganmen to start charging forward. Abel then took his opportunity to vault back out of the ganmen and land on his feet, just in time to see the charging ganmen tackle the rest of the attackers straight off the edge of Shin Dai-Gurren.

"Heh…Never thought I'd get a chance to do something badass like that." Abel laughed a bit wearily, leaning over to catch his breath.

"Abel, you alright?" Kane's voice spoke over the intercom again. "Looks like we're clear for now, but more are on the way! Get back on those cannons!"

"Aye aye, cap'n!" Abel began to run back to the cannon controls.

The process repeated itself for quite a while, with Abel bombarding any approaching troops with cannon fire, and then occasionally having to force any stragglers off the ship himself.

"We can't keep this up for a whole lot longer…What the hell is takin' so long?" Abel wondered aloud.

"Gentlemen! It seems you could use some assistance, no?" A familiar voice rang from somewhere in the sky.

After a moment, a golden-tinted ganmen fell from the sky, making a graceful landing aboard Shin-Dai Gurren's deck. The head opened up, and Ty, leader of the NJRF stood up, smiling proudly.

"Jeez, about time we got some help!" Abel laughed. "What took you so long?"

"We had some fighting of our own to take care of!" Ty laughed boisterously.

After a moment, an silver-tinted ganmen, more agile looking than Ty's flipped down and landed on its feel.

"Would you please take this more seriously?" Ivahn, Ty's beleaguered right-hand man popped out of his ganmen, sounding completely exasperated. "You've been playing around, picking off ganmen at your leisure. This is a battlefield, you know."

"Sorry, sorry, Ivahn." Ty grinned. "But we're going to help these guys out, right?"

"Yes, of course, provided they need it."

"Yeah!" Abel responded quickly. "That is, our spiral energy reserve is beginning to run low. We were sure we were going to go down with the ship, but with you guys here, we might have a chance."

"Oh, come on! That's no way to act!" Ty shouted. "More gusto! More spirit! Say something like 'we're going to win, because we're badass!' That kind of thing is your brigade's modus operandi, right?"

"Mo…wha?" Abel looked confused.

"Ehehe, I suppose I lost you? No matter. Let's just get cracking, shall we?" Ty smiled broadly, giving a cheery salute before popping back into his ganmen.

"I really wish he'd stop treating this like a game…" Ivahn groaned. "Look, I'm sorry we took so long. But we managed to hijack one of the beastmen's airships, meaning we'll be able to airlift troops directly onto the top of New Teppelin Tower. Now where's your leader?"

"He's already started heading towards the tower. He's probably inside by now."

"He went to all the trouble of going in by the ground? I can't help but wonder if your leader is as foolish as mine…" Ivahn shook his head, looking irritated that his airlifting plan was for naught.

"Sorry…" Abel muttered. "But if you guys had been around sooner…"

"No, no, don't worry about it. There's no point in arguing about this. We're all fighting for the same goal." Ivahn gave a curt nod before ducking back into his ganmen. "Now, you two push ahead. We can handle this lot."

The two shining Ganmen leapt into the swarm of enemies, beginning to hack through it like it was nothing more than thick underbrush. Shortly after, a large airship flew over, presumably the one Ivahn had mentioned. Around two dozen more ganmen dove from the open bay of the ship, falling into the chaos below. Machine parts began to fly into the air, occasionally falling onto the deck of Shin Dai-Gurren.

"What's going on out there?" Kane called over the comm. system.

"Those mercenary guys are helping us push forward!"

"You're damn right we are!" Ty shouted, his voice crackling over his own communicator. "We've got the finest group of pilots on this whole damned planet, and we're not about to let a little team of ragtag revolutionaries show us up! Bwahahaha!"

"Would you shut up and keep fighting?" Ivahn snapped.

"Oops, sorry!" Ty laughed, sounding completely jovial and unapologetic.

"Those guys…They're organized, but they're a bunch of weirdos just like us…" Abel muttered.

"We're moving forward then!" Kane called as Shin Dai-Gurren lurched forward with a groan.

"Jeez, those beastmen really did a number on her. She's practically on her last legs...Don't worry, old girl! I'll fix you up good as new when this is over!" Abel laughed, showing that Adam wasn't the only member of the family who liked to talk to inanimate objects.

=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=

Adam strode forward as soon as his feet touched the ground. Viral smirked as Adam made his way over to him. The beastmen had all left their ganmen and were aiming their weapons at the humans in case either one tried to make a break for it.

"Well, Adam. Are you prepared?"

"Let me guess, prepared to die?"

"Ha!" Viral let out a raspy sardonic laugh. "You're a fool."

"Heh, yeah, you say that now…"

"You're overconfident." Viral shook his head. "Even if you do defeat me, you'll never defeat Granze with an attitude like that."

"Viral, you have got to be the most stubborn person I've ever met. I've beaten you three times now!"

"Silence! I'm going to finish you off today and make up for those last three times!"

"Viral…Why are you still standing by Granze? You're a pretty smart guy. You know what he's doing is wrong."

"Regardless...At this point, I have nowhere else to go. Now…" Viral looked wistful and sad for a moment, before regaining his composure.

He then unsheathed two blades and held them out to Adam.

"Choose your weapon, Adam. May the gods of fortune smile upon you."

"Heh…Yeah. Alright." Adam nodded, taking one of the blades.

The two men took a few steps away from each other, preparing themselves. Eve climbed out of Gurren and slid to the ground.

"Adam, you'd better be careful…" She murmured. "This is all too familiar."

The scar running across Adam's chest, and the reason he had it flashed through Eve's mind. The image of him lying on the dirty arena floor in New Jiha, Viral standing over him, and Adam's subsequent comeback and victory. All of these things ran through Eve's head.

"He'll be fine…He'd better be fine." She told herself, trying to calm her nerves.

Adam took the first strike, running towards Viral with his blade raised. Viral smirked and attempted to strike Adam's chest. Surprisingly, Adam had thought ahead and slid to his knees, sweeping his leg out in an attempt to trip Viral. The move was certainly unexpected, but Viral jumped to avoid the sweep nonetheless, attempting to jam his blade into Adam's outstretched leg. Adam managed to pull his leg away quickly, but the blade still grazed his knee. Adam winced, feeling the sharp sting of the cut. He leapt to his feet, swinging his blade as he did in an effort to throw Viral off-guard. The beastman kept his composure and blocked every swing.

"You're too sloppy, Adam! I thought you were a better warrior than this!" Viral shouted as he took another swing.

"Shut up!" Adam snapped. "I don't usually fight with blades!"

Unfortunately for both Adam and Viral, neither was at an advantage against the other. Viral's skill with a blade was on full display, but Adam was used to thinking on his feet, and his thin frame allowed him to evade the majority of Viral's assault.

The clanging of blades and banter between the two continued for an indeterminate amount of time. The longer Eve watched them, the more on edge she became. The fight could end at any moment. Every now and then, a blade would get too close to a combatant's face and a fleck of blood would begin to ooze from their cheek or chin.

Suddenly Adam yelled in pain. Viral had gotten a lucky strike in and hit Adam's shoulder, and deep, nearly down to the bone, from how it felt. The arm went numb with shock for a moment before beginning to throb in agonizing Adam gritted his teeth and shoved his boot into Viral's stomach to get him off. The adrenaline and familiar sensation of overly aggressive amounts of spiral energy began to run through Adam.

"Viral..." Adam said slowly, as he attempted to suck in air. "Do you know WHY I'm going to win?"

"You insolent…" Viral raised his blade to take another swing, but Adam blocked the blow with his own blade, beginning to advance towards Viral.

"SHUT UP!" He snarled. "Just listen! What are you planning to do if you win? Kill me? What if I win?"

Adam began to swing his blade as wildly as his arm would allow, his other arm searing with pain.

"Then…Then you'll have the honour of ending my life." Viral growled as he blocked Adam's blows, slowly being pushed back.

"I…DON'T…WANT…THAT!" Adam shouted in-between gasps of pain, not from anger, but from the agonizing pain that his right shoulder, bleeding profusely, was giving him. "THAT ISN'T…HOW…I…ROLL! I'M NOT KILLING YOU!"

"THAT…ISN'T….THE SHIN…DAI-GURREN WAY!" He let out another scream.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME, ADAM!" Viral shouted back as he raised his blade to end Adam's pain-fueled onslaught. "YOU HUMANS ARE ALL THE SAME!"

Adam threw down his blade and grabbed Viral's as it came down, blood dripping out of his hand as he gripped the cold metal. With one last yell, he ripped the blade from Viral's grip and slammed his forehead into Viral's, headbutting him so hard that the beastman crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

"Heh…" Adam gave a shuddering, pained laugh. "Viral…You're an idiot…"

Adam was in immense pain. He could feel blood leaking out of his leg, his gashed arm, numerous spots on his face, and his hand. And on top of all that, he now had a splitting headache from slamming his face into Viral's.

The beastmen guards who had been watching the fight carefully were completely bewildered. They had seen with their own eyes a human take down a Lieutenant in Granze's army, and technically with his bare hands at that. Up until this point, Viral's failures had been written off because most beastmen hadn't actually seen him fail against Adam. He had sent them away to fight someone else most times. But now that there were eyewitnesses, at the end of everything, if Granze was still in power, Viral was in for a dishonourable discharge and execution for sure.

Adam slowly turned around to face the onlooking line of guards.

"Now…Who's next?" He licked some of the blood from his cheek, trying to look as menacing as possible, mentally noting how disgusting the coppery taste was.

The beastmen cowered, too afraid to do anything, except for one, who was so scared out of his mind that he wasn't thinking straight. He was aiming his gun at Eve.

"I-I-If we kill one, the other will…the other won't be able to pilot Gurren Lagann!" He said to the others.

"A-Are you sure that's a good idea? That human looks pretty p-pissed…" Another beastman argued.

"Eve!" Adam shouted

Eve was unsure of what to do. She was still trying to process what Adam had just done, how he had suffered severe bodily harm just so he wouldn't have to kill Viral.

The beastman's finger started to squeeze the trigger of the pistol, and then…

CRACK! A rock hit the guard in the face, sending him staggering and causing the shot to go off wildly.

"Hey, what the hell are you doin'?" A familiar voice called from the entrance.

"B-Black!" Adam called, relieved to see another ally. "Took you long enough, you…oww!"

Black came striding in, all the beastmen's guns pointed at him, verifying him as another new threat.

"S-Stand down, human! We won't hesitate to shoot!"

"Pssh, you don't scare me, you friggin' bastards." Black grumbled. "I've faced scarier guys than you in prison."

"S-Stand down, we said!" The beastman repeated.

"Jeez, if you keep pointin' those guns at me, I might do somethin' I'd regret. Bein' a hardened criminal and all…"

The guns didn't go down. Black sighed and shrugged, proceeding to slam his fist into the nearest guard's face, then swinging him around into a chokehold, letting the guard's gun clatter to the floor.

"Now, what was your policy on killin' allies?" He asked. "Cuz I'm pretty sure you guys are better than that."

"W-we'll still shoot!" One guard shouted.

"Damn…And here I was hopin' you'd walk away quietly." Black rolled his eyes, and tossed the guard into the crowd, proceeding to leap in himself and beat the living hell out of every guard that got within arms reach. Within minutes, the entire squad was lying in a heap. Black then turned to Adam and raised an eyebrow.

"Woooah, shit, kid. You're messed up pretty bad. Good thing I brought the doc with me." He said, fiddling with his earpiece. "Yo, doc. Get in here. The coast is clear and you got a patient."

Within moments, Zeke came wheeling in at an astounding speed, propelling himself so fast that Mari had to run to keep up.

"Alright, what's the…" Zeke's eyes wandered over to Adam. "Holy…What in the hell did you do to yourself?"

"C-Can we talk about this later?" Adam winced. "You…have no idea how much pain I'm in right now."

"Alright, alright. Let's get you stitched up. It's a damned good thing your spiral energy works like some kind of self-healing magic sometimes. Anybody else would be dead in your position by now." Zeke muttered as Mari handed him his case of medical supplies.

"Guess the gods of fortune really did smile upon me…eh, Viral?" Adam muttered as his eyes wandered over to the unconscious beastman.

CH. 37 END

Author's Note: Yeah, the final push is still going. This chapter went through a couple of changes during the writing process. The only thing that stayed the same was Adam and Viral's sword duel, and even then it was supposed to be different. My original concept for their fight here was supposed to be an echo of their battle at New Jiha. And now looking back, it kind of is, but isn't at the same time. Also, in case it isn't completely obvious, I realized how grim in tone last chapter was, so this one was my effort to get back into the groove that the story is usually in, with more banter and hot-blooded behaviour. Anyway, thanks for reading as always. I'm definitely a lucky guy to have such a loyal group of people behind me.

-CK.


End file.
